Breakdown of Hänen mielipiteensä muuttui, kun hän kuuli lisää.
hän
he/she
kun
when
lisää
more
muuttua
to change
kuulla
to hear
mielipide
the opinion
hänen
his/her
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Questions & Answers about Hänen mielipiteensä muuttui, kun hän kuuli lisää.
What does the ending in mielipiteensä mean?
The ending -nsä/-nsa is the third-person possessive suffix. It marks the noun as “his/her/their (own).” So mielipiteensä = “his/her opinion.” The vowel is ä here because of vowel harmony (the word contains front vowels).
Why do we have both hänen and the possessive suffix (mielipiteensä)? Isn’t that redundant?
In standard written Finnish, third-person possession is typically shown with both the pronoun and the suffix: hänen mielipiteensä. You can drop hänen if the possessor is obvious from context, but the suffix on the noun is still expected in standard language. Using both avoids ambiguity.
Can I say Hänen mielipide muuttui without the suffix?
Not in standard Finnish. You should say Hänen mielipiteensä muuttui. Omitting the possessive suffix like hänen mielipide is colloquial and not recommended in formal or careful writing.
What case is mielipiteensä in here?
Nominative singular. It’s the subject of the sentence. The possessive suffix does not change the case; it just adds possession.
Why does the stem look like mielipite- and not mielipide-?
The noun mielipide (“opinion”) has the stem mielipite- before endings. So adding the possessive suffix gives mielipiteensä. This is a regular e-stem pattern in Finnish (cf. genitive mielipiteen, partitive mielipidettä).
What’s the difference between muuttui and muutti?
- muuttui is the past tense of the intransitive verb muuttua = “to change, to become different” (change happens to the subject): Hänen mielipiteensä muuttui.
- muutti is the past tense of the transitive verb muuttaa = “to change (something)” (someone changes something): Hän muutti mielipidettään (“He/She was changing his/her opinion,” ongoing/partial) or Hän muutti mielipiteensä (“He/She changed his/her opinion,” complete change).
Why is there a comma before kun?
Because kun introduces a subordinate clause. In standard Finnish, you put a comma between the main clause and a following subordinate clause: … muuttui, kun …. If the kun-clause comes first, the comma goes after it: Kun hän kuuli lisää, hänen mielipiteensä muuttui.
Does kun mean “when” or “because” here?
In standard Finnish, kun here means “when.” In colloquial speech, kun can sometimes mean “because,” but for clarity (especially in writing), use koska for “because.”
Why kuuli and not kuunteli?
- kuulla = “to hear” (perception, often unintentional): hän kuuli lisää = “he/she heard more.”
- kuunnella = “to listen (to)” (intentional): hän kuunteli lisää would imply he/she actively kept listening more. The sentence is about receiving more information, so kuuli is natural.
What exactly is lisää?
Lisää is the partitive singular of lisä used adverbially, meaning “more/further/additional(ly).” It often indicates an indefinite extra amount: kuulla lisää = “to hear more.” You can also use enemmän (“more” as a comparative of amount), but:
- lisää = additional amount of the same thing (neutral, very common),
- enemmän = a greater quantity than before/than someone else.
Can I put the kun-clause first?
Yes: Kun hän kuuli lisää, hänen mielipiteensä muuttui. Same meaning, slightly different emphasis (first foregrounds the time/condition).
Is hän gendered?
No. Hän is gender-neutral and means “he” or “she.” Finnish does not grammatically mark gender.
How do I say “their opinion(s) changed when they heard more”?
- One shared opinion: Heidän mielipiteensä muuttui, kun he kuulivat lisää.
- Their separate opinions: Heidän mielipiteensä muuttuivat, kun he kuulivat lisää. Note: the suffix -nsä is the same for singular and plural possessors; the verb (and context) shows whether the possessed noun is singular or plural.
Could I rephrase “heard more” as “found out more”?
Yes. Common options:
- … kun hän sai tietää lisää (“when he/she found out more”).
- … kun hän sai lisätietoa (“when he/she got additional information”).
Can I drop hän in the kun-clause and say … kun kuuli lisää?
In careful standard Finnish, keep hän: … kun hän kuuli lisää. Without it, kun kuuli lisää can sound like a generic “when one heard more,” which is ambiguous.
Is there a non-finite (participle) alternative to avoid repeating hän?
You can, but be careful with who the participle refers to. For example, to keep the subject consistent, say: Kuultuaan lisää hän muutti mielipidettään. Here the participle phrase (Kuultuaan lisää) correctly refers to hän. Avoid versions where the participle refers to a different entity than the main clause’s subject.