Jos olen sairas, menen lääkäriin hakemaan lääkettä.

If I am sick, I go to the doctor to get medicine.

Breakdown of Jos olen sairas, menen lääkäriin hakemaan lääkettä.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• mennä: to go
• jos: if
• -iin: to
• hakea: to get
• sairas: sick
• lääkäri: the doctor
• lääke: the medicine

Questions & Answers about Jos olen sairas, menen lääkäriin hakemaan lääkettä.

What does Jos mean, and is it the same as Kun?

Jos is the conjunction “if,” introducing a condition that may or may not occur. Kun means “when” in the sense of “at the time that” or “whenever” something regularly happens.

• Jos olen sairas = “If I am sick” (condition).
• Kun olen sairas = “When/whenever I am sick” (time clause).

They can overlap for habits, but jos always marks a possible condition, whereas kun marks a time reference.

Why is menen in the present tense? Isn’t there a future tense in Finnish?

Finnish does not have a separate future tense. The present tense covers present, habitual and future actions. In a zero‐conditional sentence like this, the present tense expresses a general rule or habit:

• Jos olen sairas, menen… literally “If I am sick, I go…” but naturally “If I’m sick, I’ll go…”

Why isn’t there an article (like “the” or “a”) before lääkäriin?

Finnish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context, not marked by words like “a” or “the.”

• lääkäriin can mean “to a doctor” or “to the doctor” depending on what the speaker and listener know.

What case is lääkäriin, and how is it formed?

lääkäriin is the illative case, expressing movement into or to something.
Formation for this pattern (nouns ending in -i):

1. Start with lääkäri (doctor).
2. Replace the final -i with -iin (lengthened vowel + n).
   → lääkäri → lääkäriin
   Other nouns often use -hVn (e.g. talo → taloon), but those ending in -i typically use -in.

Why is hakemaan used instead of the basic infinitive hakea?

hakemaan is the illative form of the third infinitive, used after verbs of motion (like mennä, lähteä, tulla) to express purpose.

• mennä hakemaan = “go in order to get”
  You cannot use the plain infinitive hakea for purpose directly; the third infinitive illative (-maan/-mään) is required.

Why is lääkettä in the partitive case?

The partitive case (-tä) is used for:

• Indefinite or partial objects
• Verbs indicating an action affecting some of something

hakea (“to fetch/get”) takes a partitive when the amount is unspecified.

• lääkettä = “(some) medicine” (unspecified quantity)
  If you meant a specific, whole item, you’d use the nominative (lääke).

Is the comma required between the two clauses?

Yes. In Finnish, you place a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause when the subordinate clause comes first.

• Jos olen sairas, menen lääkäriin hakemaan lääkettä.
  If the subordinate clause follows the main clause, the comma is optional in short sentences.

When should I use the conditional mood instead of the indicative with jos?

Use the indicative for general truths or habitual conditions and the conditional for hypothetical or unlikely situations:

• Indicative (zero‐conditional habit):
Jos olen sairas, menen lääkäriin.
“If I’m sick [any time], I go to the doctor.”

• Conditional (hypothetical):
Jos olisin sairas, menisin lääkäriin.
“If I were sick [now, but I’m not], I would go to the doctor.”