Yksityinen kokous alkaa tunnin kuluttua.

A private meeting starts in an hour.

Breakdown of Yksityinen kokous alkaa tunnin kuluttua.

• kokous: the meeting
• alkaa: to start
• yksityinen: private
• tunti: the hour
• kuluttua: after

Questions & Answers about Yksityinen kokous alkaa tunnin kuluttua.

Why is Yksityinen capitalized in this sentence?

Because it’s the first word of the sentence. In Finnish, adjectives (like yksityinen) are normally written with a lowercase letter unless they begin a sentence or are part of a proper name.

What case is tunnin, and why is it used here?

Tunnin is the genitive singular form of tunti (hour). When using the time expression tunnin kuluttua (“after an hour”), the amount of time always appears in the genitive case.

What exactly is kuluttua in tunnin kuluttua?

Kuluttua is a temporal postposition (sometimes called a “time postposition”). It attaches to a noun in the genitive and means “after.” Together, tunnin kuluttua literally means “after an hour has elapsed.”

Could I say tunnin jälkeen instead of tunnin kuluttua?

Yes. Tunnin jälkeen also means “after an hour.”
– jälkeen is another postposition that uses the genitive and means “after.”
– kuluttua is a bit more formal or bookish, but both are common.

What is the difference between alkaa and aloittaa? Why is alkaa used here?

• alkaa is an intransitive verb meaning “to begin” (the subject itself starts).
• aloittaa is transitive: you aloitat something (you start something).
  In Yksityinen kokous alkaa…, the meeting (kokous) itself is beginning, so you use alkaa.

Can I use päästä instead of kuluttua, like tunnin päästä?

Yes. tunnin päästä also means “in an hour” or “after an hour.”
Nuance:

• tunnin kuluttua / jälkeen focuses on the point in time after an hour has passed.
• tunnin päästä often feels a bit more like “counting down” from now (we’ll meet in an hour). All three are very common and often interchangeable.