Breakdown of Olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin kahdesti.
minä
I
koti
the home
-iin
to
unohtaa
to forget
kahdesti
twice
lompakko
the wallet
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin kahdesti.
Why is Minä omitted in the sentence Olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin kahdesti?
In Finnish, subject pronouns are optional because the verb ending already tells you who is performing the action. Here -n on olen indicates first‐person singular, so you can drop minä. You could say Minä olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin kahdesti, but it’s more natural to omit Minä.
Why is olen unohtanut used instead of the simple past unohdin?
Olen unohtanut is the Finnish perfect tense. It describes a completed action without specifying exactly when it happened, often stressing its relevance to the present or its repetition. Unohdin is the simple past (preterite) and usually refers to a single completed event, often tied to a specific time.
How is the Finnish perfect tense formed?
Combine the present tense of olla (here olen) with the past participle of the main verb (here unohtanut). Most Finnish past participles end in -nut/-nyt, so you get olen + unohtanut = I have forgotten.
Why is lompakon in that form instead of lompakko?
lompakon is the genitive (identical to the accusative) singular form of lompakko, marking it as the direct object of a completed action. In Finnish, verbs that express a completed, bounded action take their object in genitive/accusative rather than partitive.
What case is kotiin, and why isn’t it kodissa?
kotiin is the allative case, indicating direction “to home.” With unohtaa, the object (wallet) ends up at the specified location, so you use the allative kotiin. kodissa (the inessive case) would mean “in the home,” but unohtaa normally pairs with the allative to show where something was left.
What does kahdesti mean, and can I use kaksi kertaa instead?
kahdesti is an adverb meaning “twice.” You can indeed use kaksi kertaa, which is very common in spoken Finnish. Both mean “two times,” with kahdesti sounding a bit more formal or written.
Can I move kahdesti around in the sentence?
Yes. Finnish word order is flexible. You can say:
• Olen kahdesti unohtanut lompakon kotiin.
• Kahdesti olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin.
• Olen unohtanut lompakon kotiin kahdesti.
All are grammatical; placement mainly affects emphasis.
How would I express “my wallet” instead of just “the wallet”?
Use the possessive suffix -ni on lompakko: lompakoni. For example:
Olen unohtanut lompakoni kotiin kahdesti.
Here lompakoni (“my wallet”) is a properly marked direct object in Finnish.