Breakdown of Huoltomies kertoi vitsin, kun johto oli katkennut, ja kokki nauroi ääneen.
olla
to be
ja
and
kun
when
kertoa
to tell
huoltomies
the maintenance man
johto
the cable
kokki
the chef
vitsi
the joke
katketa
to snap
nauraa
to laugh
ääneen
out loud
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Questions & Answers about Huoltomies kertoi vitsin, kun johto oli katkennut, ja kokki nauroi ääneen.
Why is the verb oli katkennut (past perfect) used here instead of a simple past like katkesi?
Finnish uses the pluskvamperfekti (past perfect) to show that one event happened before another past event. In the sentence:
- johto oli katkennut (“the cable had broken”) occurred before
- huoltomies kertoi vitsin (“the repairman told a joke”).
If you used katkesi, both events would sound like they happened independently in the past, without emphasizing the cable break as prior.
What role does johto play, and why is it in the nominative case?
Johto is the subject of the subordinate clause kun johto oli katkennut. In Finnish, the subject of a clause is in the nominative case. Here johto (the cable/line) performs the action of breaking, so it remains in the nominative.
Why is the finite verb oli katkennut placed at the end of the kun-clause?
In Finnish subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like kun, the default word order is S-O-V (Subject-Object-Verb). The conjunction kun + subject johto + predicate oli katkennut follows this pattern. Main clauses typically use V-S-O order; subordinate clauses push the verb to the end.
How does the conjunction kun differ from koska and kunnes in this context?
- kun here means “when” in a temporal, factual sense (“at the moment that”).
- koska means “because”, giving a reason rather than a time.
- kunnes means “until”, denoting a duration up to a point.
Since we’re talking about the moment the cable had already broken, kun is the correct choice.
Why is ääneen in the illative case, and what nuance does it add to nauroi ääneen?
Ääni means “voice” or “sound.” Its illative case ääneen literally means “into the voice/sound,” which in Finnish expresses manner: to laugh out loud. Many Finnish adverbial expressions of manner use the illative to show entering into a state or action.
Why is there a comma before ja kokki nauroi ääneen?
Finnish allows a comma between two independent clauses joined by ja. Here each main clause has its own subject and verb:
- Huoltomies kertoi vitsin,
- kokki nauroi ääneen.
The comma helps clarify the boundary between them, though in shorter clauses it can be optional.
What is huoltomies, and how are such compound nouns formed in Finnish?
Huoltomies = huolto (“maintenance, service”) + mies (“man”) → “repairman/maintenance guy.” Finnish commonly forms compounds by simply stringing base words together. The first element modifies the second, and the whole compound behaves as one noun in the sentence.