Learn Hardcore Finnish: Jos vuokra maksetaan ajoissa, vakuutus pysyy voimassa ilman lisäkuluja. - If the rent is paid on time, the insurance remains valid without extra costs.

In Finnish the passive (sometimes called the impersonal form) expresses a general or unspecified subject—essentially “one pays” or “the rent gets paid.” Here maksetaan means “(if) the rent is paid,” without pointing to who pays. It’s common in rules or general statements. If you insisted on an active form, you’d have to specify the person: jos sinä maksat vuokran ajoissa… (“if you pay the rent on time…”).

Why is vuokra in the nominative case, not partitive (vuokraa)?

Because in the passive voice the thing being “acted on” becomes the grammatical subject, which takes the nominative. In an active sentence maksaa (‘to pay’) would take a partitive object (maksat vuokraa), but in the passive the object turns into the subject: vuokra maksetaan.

What case is ajoissa and why does it mean “on time”?

ajoissa is technically the plural inessive of aika (‘time’), literally “in the times.” Finnish often uses these case forms adverbially. ajoissa simply means “in (good) time” or “on time.” It doesn’t change for singular vs. plural in actual use.

What is voimassa? Is it an adjective or a case form?

voimassa is the adessive singular of voima (‘force, power’), used adverbially to mean “in force” or “valid.” In the set phrase pysyä voimassa it means “to remain in effect/valid.” You can think of it as “stay in force.”

Why is lisäkuluja in the partitive plural after ilman?

The preposition ilman (‘without’) always governs the partitive case. Since lisäkuluja (‘additional costs’) is plural, you use the partitive plural. In English we say “without additional charges,” and in Finnish it’s ilman lisäkuluja.

Why is there a comma after the Jos-clause?

In Finnish, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like jos (‘if’) are separated from the main clause by a comma. So Jos vuokra maksetaan ajoissa, signals that the conditional clause ends, and the result clause (vakuutus pysyy…) begins.

Why are maksetaan and pysyy in the present tense when talking about a future condition?

Finnish does not have a separate future tense. The present tense covers both present and future meanings. So maksetaan and pysyy can refer to actions or states that will happen later, as long as the context (here the conditional jos) makes the timing clear.

What’s the difference between jos and kun? Could you say Kun vuokra maksetaan ajoissa…?

jos means “if” (a condition that may or may not happen). kun means “when” (something expected or certain to happen). Using kun here would imply you assume the rent will definitely be paid on time every time. With jos you’re simply stating a condition: only if it’s paid on time does the insurance remain valid without extra charges.