Kännykkä sammuu, jos akku on tyhjä.

to be

Breakdown of Kännykkä sammuu, jos akku on tyhjä.

• jos: if
• tyhjä: empty
• akku: the battery

Questions & Answers about Kännykkä sammuu, jos akku on tyhjä.

What does the word in bold mean: sammuu? Why not sammuttaa?

• sammuu is the 3rd person singular present of sammua = to go out, to switch off by itself (intransitive).
• sammuttaa = to turn something off (transitive; needs an agent). Examples:
• Kännykkä sammuu. The phone shuts down (by itself).
• Sammutan kännykän. I turn the phone off.

Why does Finnish use the present tense here when English would say “will shut down”?

Finnish has no separate future tense. The simple present covers both present and future. In if-clauses you normally use the present in both clauses: Jos akku on tyhjä, kännykkä sammuu.

Is the comma before jos required?

Yes. Finnish uses a comma before most subordinate clauses, including jos-clauses, even when the subordinate clause comes last: Kännykkä sammuu, jos akku on tyhjä.

Can I put the jos-clause first?

Yes: Jos akku on tyhjä, kännykkä sammuu. Keep the comma after the jos-clause. You can optionally add niin: Jos akku on tyhjä, niin kännykkä sammuu.

What’s the nuance difference between , , , and with batteries?