Breakdown of Kun saavuimme asuntoon, omistaja oli jo siivonnut kylpyhuoneen.
olla
to be
kun
when
me
we
siivota
to clean
saapua
to arrive
jo
already
asunto
the apartment
omistaja
the owner
kylpyhuone
the bathroom
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Questions & Answers about Kun saavuimme asuntoon, omistaja oli jo siivonnut kylpyhuoneen.
What does kun mean in this sentence?
Kun is a conjunction meaning when. It introduces a temporal clause that sets the time for what follows – in this case, our arrival.
Why is saavuimme used instead of tulimme? Aren’t both verbs translated as “come”?
Both saapua and tulla can be translated as “come,” but there’s a nuance:
- saapua focuses on the act of arriving at a destination.
- tulla is more general (“to come”), without specifically emphasising arrival.
Here the speaker wants to stress the moment of arrival, so saavuimme is more natural.
What case is asuntoon, and why is it not just asunto?
Asuntoon is the illative case, which expresses movement into something.
Formation for a word like asunto:
- Lengthen the final vowel: asunto → asuntoo
- Add -n: asuntooo → asuntoon
Hence asuntoon = “into the apartment.”
What tense is omistaja oli siivonnut kylpyhuoneen, and how is it formed?
This is the past perfect (pluperfect). In Finnish you form it by combining:
- Past tense of olla (to be): oli
- Past participle of the main verb: siivonnut (from siivota, to clean)
So oli siivonnut = “had cleaned.”
Why is kylpyhuoneen marked with -n? Shouldn’t perfect tenses take the partitive for objects?
In perfect and pluperfect tenses:
- If the object is specific and completed, it takes the accusative (which in singular looks like the genitive).
Here the bathroom is a definite, completed target of cleaning, so it’s kylpyhuone → kylpyhuoneen.
What role does jo play in oli jo siivonnut?
Jo means already. It emphasises that the owner’s cleaning took place before our arrival.
What’s the difference between simple past omistaja siivosi kylpyhuoneen and pluperfect omistaja oli siivonnut kylpyhuoneen?
- Omistaja siivosi kylpyhuoneen = Owner cleaned the bathroom (simple past; no clear relation to another event).
- Omistaja oli siivonnut kylpyhuoneen = Owner had cleaned the bathroom (pluperfect; indicates this action was completed before another past event, our arrival).
Could the clauses be swapped? For example: Omistaja oli jo siivonnut kylpyhuoneen, kun saavuimme asuntoon?
Yes. Finnish allows both orders. Placing the subordinate clause second puts more focus on the arrival:
“Owner had already cleaned…, when we arrived.”
The overall meaning stays the same.
How is the past participle siivonnut formed from siivota?
To form the past participle of siivota:
- Drop -a from the infinitive: siivota → siivot-
- Add -nut (for verbs whose infinitive ends in -ta): siivot + nut = siivonnut