Breakdown of Muistuta minua huomenna soittamaan siskolleni.
minun
my
soittaa
to call
sisko
the sister
minä
me
huomenna
tomorrow
muistuttaa
to remind
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Questions & Answers about Muistuta minua huomenna soittamaan siskolleni.
What’s the difference between muistaa and muistuttaa, and why is muistuta used here?
Muistaa means “to remember” something yourself; its 2nd person singular imperative is muista (“remember!”). Muistuttaa means “to remind” someone else; its 2nd person singular imperative is muistuta (“remind!”). Here you’re asking someone to remind you, so you need muistuta.
Why is minua in the partitive case instead of minut?
The verb muistuttaa takes its object (the person being reminded) in the partitive case. Therefore you say muistuta minua (“remind me”), not muistuta minut.
Why is the verb soittaa in the form soittamaan rather than soitan or soita?
After verbs like muistuttaa, Finnish uses the third infinitive in the illative case to express “to do something.” The third infinitive of soittaa is soittamaan (“to call”), so muistuta minua soittamaan literally means “remind me into calling.”
What is the third infinitive in the illative, and when do you use it?
Finnish has several infinitive forms. The third infinitive illative (ending in -maan/-mään) is used after verbs that govern another action—verbs like pyytää (ask), auttaa (help), kieltää (forbid), muistuttaa (remind), etc. It corresponds to English “to do something.”
Why is siskolleni in the allative case and what does the -ni suffix indicate?
When you call someone (verb soittaa), Finnish uses the allative case (suffix -lle) for the person being called: siskolle = “to (the) sister.” The -ni is the 1st person singular possessive suffix, so siskolleni = “to my sister.”
Can I use a full clause with että (“that”) instead of the infinitive here?
No. After verbs like muistuttaa, Finnish normally uses the infinitive construction, not a subordinate clause with että. Muistuta minua että soitan siskolleni huomenna would sound unnatural. The correct form is Muistuta minua soittamaan siskolleni huomenna.
Where can the time adverb huomenna (“tomorrow”) appear in the sentence?
Finnish word order is quite flexible. You can say:
- Muistuta minua huomenna soittamaan siskolleni.
- Huomenna muistuta minua soittamaan siskolleni.
- Muistuta huomenna minua soittamaan siskolleni.
All are grammatical; only the emphasis shifts slightly.
Could I swap minua and siskolleni to say Muistuta siskolleni soittamaan minua huomenna?
Yes—but that changes the meaning. Muistuta siskolleni soittamaan minua huomenna means “Remind my sister to call me tomorrow,” whereas the original means “Remind me to call my sister tomorrow.”
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun (like “you”) in the sentence?
Finnish commonly omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows person and number. Here muistuta is the 2nd person singular imperative, so “you” is understood without saying sinä.