Pysyn kotona kunnes bussi tulee.

I stay at home until the bus comes.

Breakdown of Pysyn kotona kunnes bussi tulee.

• minä: I
• kotona: at home
• tulla: to come
• bussi: the bus
• pysyä: to stay
• kunnes: until

Questions & Answers about Pysyn kotona kunnes bussi tulee.

Why is the locative form kotona used instead of kotiin?

Finnish verbs that express being in a place, like pysyä, take a locative case (usually inessive – -na/-nä) to mean “at [location].”
kotona = “at home.”
If you used kotiin (illative), it would mean “into home” or “to home,” implying movement toward the house rather than staying inside it.

What’s the difference between pysyä and jäädä when talking about staying?

Both can mean “stay,” but there’s a nuance and different case patterns:

• pysyä is more formal/literary, means “remain” or “keep on,” and requires a locative case (e.g. kotona).
• jäädä is more colloquial, means “stay behind” or “remain,” and takes the illative when you say “stay home”: jään kotiin.

Why is there no comma before kunnes in the sentence? Should I add one?

In Finnish, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like kunnes are often set off by a comma:
Pysyn kotona, kunnes bussi tulee.
However, in short, clear sentences the comma can be dropped in informal writing. In formal or careful writing, it’s recommended to include the comma.

How can the present tense tulee express a future event like “the bus will arrive”?

Finnish doesn’t have a separate future tense. The present tense is used for both present and future actions. Context tells you that you’re referring to something that hasn’t happened yet.
So bussi tulee can mean “the bus is coming” or “the bus will come,” depending on the context.

Why is kunnes used instead of kun?

• kun means “when” (referring to a point in time).
• kunnes means “until” and introduces a clause that describes how long something lasts.
  In your sentence you want “stay at home until the bus comes,” so you need kunnes.

Why is the subject pronoun minä omitted in pysyn?

Finnish verbs are fully conjugated, so the verb form pysyn already tells you it’s first person singular (“I stay”). The pronoun minä is optional and often dropped in everyday speech and writing.

Can I switch the word order, for example put the kunnes clause first?

Yes. Finnish is relatively flexible with word order. You can say:
Kunnes bussi tulee, pysyn kotona.
This still means “I’ll stay home until the bus comes,” but puts the time clause before the main clause for emphasis or stylistic variety.