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Breakdown of Passini on voimassa vielä viikon.
olla
to be
minun
my
viikko
the week
vielä
still
passi
the passport
voimassa
valid
Questions & Answers about Passini on voimassa vielä viikon.
Why is passini one word with -ni at the end, and where is minun?
In Finnish you often show possession by adding a possessive suffix to the noun instead of using a separate pronoun. For first-person singular you attach -ni, so passi (passport) + -ni = passini (“my passport”). The pronoun minun (“my”) is optional and usually omitted unless you want extra emphasis (e.g. minun passini).
What does on voimassa mean, and what part of speech is voimassa?
On is the third-person singular form of the verb olla (“to be”). Voimassa is the inessive case of the noun voima (“force, power”) used adverbially – literally “in force.” Together olla voimassa is a fixed expression meaning “to be valid.”
Why is vielä used here, and where does it go in the sentence?
Vielä is an adverb meaning “still” or “yet,” indicating continuation. In the neutral word order it comes after the verb on and before the time expression:
Passini (subject) + on (verb) + voimassa (complement) + vielä (adverb) + viikon (time).
You could move vielä for emphasis (e.g. Passini on vielä voimassa viikon), but the default position is right before the duration.
What case is viikon, and why isn’t it the partitive viikkoa?
Viikon is the genitive singular of viikko, used as a temporal adverbial to express duration (“for a week”). Finnish uses the genitive for an unspecified single duration. The partitive viikkoa appears after numerals (e.g. kaksi viikkoa = “two weeks”) but is not normally used alone to mean “one week.”
Could I also say Passini on voimassa vielä viikon ajan? What does adding -n ajan do?
Yes. Viikon ajan means “for the duration of a week.” Adding -n ajan makes the time-span explicit (“during one week”) but doesn’t change the essential meaning. Both forms (vielä viikon and vielä viikon ajan) are common and interchangeable.
What if I drop vielä and say Passini on voimassa viikon?
Without vielä, the sentence simply states that your passport is valid for one week (from now). Including vielä adds the nuance “still valid for one more week,” emphasizing that this is remaining time.
Can I invert the word order to Passini voimassa on vielä viikon?
Finnish word order is flexible, so you could place elements differently for poetic effect or focus. However, the neutral pattern is subject (Passini) – verb (on) – complement (voimassa) – adverb/time (vielä viikon). Moving voimassa before on sounds archaic or stylistic.
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