Questions & Answers about Minä olen melkein valmis.
What does melkein mean in this sentence?
Melkein is an adverb meaning almost or nearly. Here it modifies the adjective valmis, so “melkein valmis” = “almost ready.”
Why is Minä included? Can I leave it out?
In Finnish the verb ending -n in olen already tells you it’s first-person singular (“I am”). The subject pronoun minä is therefore optional, used mainly for emphasis or clarity. You can simply say Olen melkein valmis.
Why is valmis in the nominative case and not another case?
When you use the verb olla (to be) with a predicative adjective, that adjective stays in the nominative. So you say Minä olen valmis (“I am ready”). If you wanted the essive case (valmiina), it usually appears with a following phrase: Olen valmiina lähtöön (“I’m ready for departure”).
Can I change the word order, for example say Melkein olen valmis or Olen valmis melkein?