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Questions & Answers about Minä vien hänet kotiin.
Is the subject pronoun Minä necessary here?
No. The verb ending in vien already shows first person singular. The neutral, most common version is simply Vien hänet kotiin. Including Minä adds emphasis or contrast, like I (as opposed to someone else) will take them home.
What form is vien, and can it mean future?
Vien is the 1st person singular present tense of viedä (to take, carry, lead away). Finnish uses the present for both present and near-future meanings, so Vien hänet kotiin can mean I take/I’m taking/I will take them home, depending on context.
What’s the difference between viedä and tuoda?
- viedä = to take something/someone away from the current point of reference.
- tuoda = to bring something/someone toward the current point of reference. With home as the destination:
- Vien hänet kotiin = I take them to their home (away from here).
- Tuon hänet kotiin = I bring them home (to here/our home), said from the home side.
Why is it hänet and not hän or häntä?
Because it is a direct object in the total/complete sense, personal pronouns take the accusative ending -t:
- hänet = accusative (total object).
- hän = nominative (subject form).
- häntä = partitive (used in negatives or for incomplete/ongoing amounts/events).
When would häntä be used instead of hänet?
- In negation: En vie häntä kotiin (I’m not taking them home).
- For an ongoing or incomplete action: Olen viemässä häntä kotiin (I am in the process of taking them home). A bare present like Vien häntä kotiin is possible but uncommon; the progressive construction with olemassa + -massa is clearer.
What are the other accusative forms for persons (singular/plural)?
- Singular: minut, sinut, hänet
- Plural: meidät, teidät, heidät Examples: Vien sinut kotiin (I’ll take you home), Vien heidät kotiin (I’ll take them home).
Is hän gendered?
No. Hän is gender-neutral (he/she/they singular). If you need to specify gender, add a separate word like mies (man) or nainen (woman) or specify by context.
Why is it kotiin and not koti or kotona/kotoa?
Kotiin is the illative case, meaning into/to home (direction toward). The common home trio is:
- kotona = at home (inessive, static location)
- kotoa = from home (elative, out of)
- kotiin = to home (illative, into)
Why does kotiin have two i’s?
It’s the illative ending -in added to a stem that already ends in -i: koti + in → kotiin. The double i is normal here and shows the illative direction into home.
Can I say kotiinsa instead of kotiin?
Yes. Kotiinsa adds the 3rd-person possessive suffix and explicitly means to his/her/their own home. Compare:
- Vien hänet kotiin = I’ll take them home (usually understood as their home from context).
- Vien hänet kotiinsa or Vien hänet hänen kotiinsa = I’ll take them to their own home (made explicit).
Is the word order fixed? Can I move words for emphasis?
The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object–Place: (Minä) vien hänet kotiin. You can move elements to focus or contrast:
- Hänet vien kotiin (It’s them that I’m taking home).
- Minä vien hänet kotiin (I’m the one who will do it).
- Vien kotiin hänet is possible but marked; the object usually precedes the destination.
Can I drop the object and just say Vien kotiin?
Grammatically yes, if the context makes the object obvious (Who/what you’re taking home is known). Without context, it sounds incomplete or vague.
How do I make it negative?
Use the negative auxiliary and partitive object:
- En vie häntä kotiin = I won’t/don’t take them home.
- Conjugate the negative auxiliary for the person: en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät.
How do I say it in the past or with the perfect?
- Simple past: Vein hänet kotiin (I took them home).
- Present perfect: Olen vienyt hänet kotiin (I have taken them home).
- Past perfect: Olin vienyt hänet kotiin (I had taken them home).
How do I turn it into a yes–no question?
Attach -ko/kö to the verb (vowel harmony applies):
- Vienkö hänet kotiin? (Shall/Should/Am I to take them home?) For 2nd person: Vietkö hänet kotiin? (Will you take them home?)
What if it’s an object or an animal—do I still use hänet?
Use se/sen for things and animals in standard Finnish:
- Vien sen kotiin (I’ll take it home). In colloquial speech, people also use se for humans, but in standard language use hän/hänet for people.
What are common colloquial equivalents?
- Pronouns: minä → mä, sinut → sut, hänet → sen, heidät → ne
- Verbs/phrases:
- Mä vien sen kotiin (I’ll take them/it home).
- Mä heitän sen kotiin (I’ll give them a ride home; literally throw).
- Mä kuskaan sen kotiin (I’ll drive them home; slangy).
- Mä kyyditän sen kotiin (I’ll give them a lift).
Are there near-synonyms to viedä, and what nuances do they have?
- saattaa = to accompany/escort (often on foot or to the door).
- kuljettaa = to transport/carry (neutral, often about the means/service).
- kyyditä = to give a ride (by vehicle).
- kuskata = to cart/haul/drive (colloquial).
- heittää (kotiin) = to drop someone off (colloquial). Use viedä as the default neutral choice for taking someone to a place.
Does viedä imply taking away against someone’s will?
Not by itself. Viedä is neutral. Context can add force:
- Poliisi vei hänet asemalle (The police took him to the station) can imply compulsion. It can also mean to steal in other contexts (viedä rahaa = to take/steal money), but in Vien hänet kotiin it’s simply to take.