Learn Hardcore Finnish: Poika odottaa tyttöä metron laiturilla. - The boy is waiting for the girl on the metro platform.

Poika — nominative singular; the subject (boy).
odottaa — 3rd person singular present of the verb odottaa (to wait).
tyttöä — partitive singular; the object (girl).
metron — genitive singular of metro; an attributive noun meaning of the metro.
laiturilla — adessive singular of laituri; on the platform.

Together metron laiturilla means on the metro platform (literally on the platform of the metro).

Why is tyttöä in the partitive case?

Because odottaa selects a partitive object by default. Many Finnish verbs of waiting, seeking, liking, fearing, etc. take the partitive (e.g., etsiä, rakastaa, pelätä, odottaa). The partitive also fits the idea of an ongoing, not-yet-completed action.

Can I ever say tytön or tyttö after odottaa?

Not as a simple object: ✗ odottaa tytön / odottaa tyttö is ungrammatical for wait for the girl.
You can use tytön if you add a complement clause: odottaa tytön tulevan/saapuvan = to expect the girl to come/arrive. Here the meaning is closer to expect, and tytön belongs to the participial clause.

How do I ask Who is the boy waiting for? and Where is he waiting?

Who?: Ketä poika odottaa metron laiturilla? Use ketä (partitive of kuka) because odottaa takes a partitive object.
Where?: Missä poika odottaa tyttöä? — Metron laiturilla.

Why laiturilla and not laiturissa?

Finnish distinguishes inner vs. outer location cases.

laiturilla (adessive, -lla/llä) = on the platform (surface/external location)
laiturille (allative, -lle) = onto the platform
laiturilta (ablative, -lta/ltä) = off/from the platform Using laiturissa (inessive, -ssa/ssä, in) would suggest being inside something, which a platform is not.

Why is it metron laiturilla and not metro laiturilla?

When one noun modifies another, the modifier goes into the genitive: metron laiturilla = on the metro’s platform. The local case attaches to the head noun (laituri), not to the modifier. You could even stack: Helsingin metron laiturilla = on the Helsinki metro’s platform.

Could I write it as one compound, like metrolaiturilla?

Yes. Metrolaiturilla is a perfectly natural compound meaning on the metro platform. Both metron laiturilla and metrolaiturilla are common. Note that metroasemalla means at the metro station (the whole station), not specifically on the platform.

Does word order matter here?

Word order is flexible and used for emphasis:

Neutral: Poika odottaa tyttöä metron laiturilla.
Emphasize place: Metron laiturilla poika odottaa tyttöä.
Emphasize who is being waited for: Tyttöä poika odottaa metron laiturilla. All are grammatical; choose based on what you want to highlight.

How do I express the/the vs. a/an (definiteness) here?

Finnish has no articles. Poika can mean either the boy or a boy; tyttöä can mean the girl or a girl, depending on context. If you need to be explicit, you can use demonstratives like se/tämä (that/this): Se poika odottaa tyttöä… = That boy is waiting for the girl….

How is odottaa conjugated in the present tense?

minä odotan
sinä odotat
hän odottaa
me odotamme
te odotatte
he odottavat The same present form covers English waits and is waiting.

Any pronunciation tips for the sentence?

Primary stress is on the first syllable of each word.
Double letters are long: odottaa has a long tt and long aa.
y and ö are front rounded vowels: tyttöä is pronounced with front rounded vowels (like German ü/ö).
laiturilla uses the back-vowel adessive -lla due to vowel harmony.

Can I drop the subject like in Spanish/Italian?

You can drop pronouns (e.g., Hän odottaa… → Odottaa…) when the subject is clear from context. But you normally don’t drop a lexical noun like poika unless it’s already known and replaced by hän (which may then be omitted).

How do I say it in the negative?

Poika ei odota tyttöä metron laiturilla. The negative uses the auxiliary ei plus the connegative verb odota. The object with odottaa remains partitive in the negative as well.

Why is it metron and not metroa or just metro?

metron is genitive (of the metro) used as a modifier of laituri.
metroa is partitive and would be used if metro were the object of a suitable verb (e.g., odottaa metroa = to wait for the metro).
Bare metro (nominative) would not modify another noun.

How would I say the boy is waiting for girls / two girls?

Indefinite plural: Poika odottaa tyttöjä metron laiturilla. (partitive plural)
Two girls: Poika odottaa kahta tyttöä metron laiturilla. After kaksi/kahta, the noun is in partitive singular (tyttöä).

How do I make an imperative like Wait for the girl on the metro platform?

Singular informal: Odota tyttöä metron laiturilla.
Plural/formal: Odottakaa tyttöä metron laiturilla. A more casual, ongoing nuance: Odottele tyttöä… / Odotelkaa tyttöä…