Learn Hardcore Finnish: Ryhmä pitää pienen tauon parvekkeella. - The group takes a small break on the balcony.

Here pitää means “to take/hold,” as in the idiom pitää tauko = “to take a break.” It is not the “to like” meaning (pitää jostakin) nor the necessity meaning (pitää tehdä = “must/has to do”). The verb is in 3rd person singular present: hän/ryhmä pitää.

Why is it tauon and not tauko or taukoa?

Finnish marks the object differently depending on aspect/completeness. Pitää pienen tauon uses the “total object” (genitive singular: tauon) to show a bounded, complete event: they take a (whole) short break.

If you used the partitive taukoa (e.g., pitää pientä taukoa), it would suggest an ongoing activity or an unbounded amount of “having a break.”
Bare nominative tauko is not used here; with a singular total object, Finnish uses the genitive (tauon).

Why is the adjective pieni in the form pienen?

Adjectives agree with their nouns in case and number. Since tauon is genitive singular, pieni also becomes genitive singular: pienen.
Mini-paradigm: nominative pieni, genitive pienen, partitive pientä.

Can I say Ryhmä pitää pientä taukoa parvekkeella? What changes?

Yes. Pientä taukoa (partitive) shifts the nuance to an ongoing or unbounded activity: “The group is (in the middle of) taking a short break.” Pienen tauon suggests a complete, bounded break (“takes a short break” as a single event).

Why is the verb singular (pitää) even though a group has many people?

Because ryhmä is grammatically singular. Finnish verb agreement follows grammatical number, so we get ryhmä pitää. If the subject were plural (ryhmät), then the verb would be plural: ryhmät pitävät.

What does parvekkeella mean compared to parvekkeelle and parvekkeelta?

They are locative cases with -l- (surface/“on/at” series):

parvekkeella = on the balcony (static location)
parvekkeelle = onto the balcony (movement to)
parvekkeelta = from the balcony (movement from)

Why is it parvekkeella and not parvekkeessa?

Finnish uses the -lla/-llä (adessive) series for being “on/at” a surface or open area, which fits a balcony. The -ssa/-ssä (inessive) series is “in/inside,” used for enclosed spaces (e.g., huoneessa = in the room). A balcony is not conceived as an enclosed interior, so parvekkeella is natural.

Where does the double k in parvekkeella come from?

The noun parveke belongs to the -e type that forms a stem with -e-/-ee- and, in this word, a geminated k appears: stem parvekke-. Adding the adessive -lla gives parvekkeella. You also see this stem in the genitive: parvekkeen. (Compare huone → huoneessa/huoneen, which has no k to geminate.)

Are there articles in Finnish? How do I know if it means “a short break” or “the short break”?

Finnish has no articles. Pienen tauon can mean either “a short break” or “the short break”; context determines definiteness. If needed, you can make it explicit with demonstratives (e.g., sen pienen tauon = that short break).

Can I change the word order for emphasis, e.g., start with the place?

Yes. Word order is flexible for information structure. All of these are fine, with different emphasis:

Ryhmä pitää pienen tauon parvekkeella. (neutral)
Parvekkeella ryhmä pitää pienen tauon. (emphasizes location)
Ryhmä parvekkeella pitää pienen tauon. (focus on which group) The core grammar (cases and agreement) stays the same.

How is pitää conjugated in the present tense?

minä pidän
sinä pidät
hän / se pitää
me pidämme
te pidätte
he / ne pitävät

Can I use ottaa instead of pitää for “take a break”?

Yes. Both are idiomatic:

pitää (pieni) tauko = take/have a (short) break
ottaa (pieni) tauko (often in passive/“let’s” form: otetaan pieni tauko) = take a (short) break
Nuance: ottaa can feel a bit more like “initiate” a break; pitää can feel like “hold/have” a break. In practice both are very common.

How would I say “The group likes the balcony”?

Use the “like” meaning of pitää with the elative case (-sta/-stä):
Ryhmä pitää parvekkeesta.

What happens if I start the sentence with Ryhmän pitää?

Then pitää likely has the necessity meaning (“must/has to”), and the logical subject appears in the genitive (Ryhmän). For example:

Ryhmän pitää pitää pienen tauon parvekkeella. = The group must take a short break on the balcony.
You can avoid the double pitää by using another modal: Ryhmän täytyy pitää pieni/pienen tauko/tauon parvekkeella. (Both nominative and genitive objects are used in this modal construction; the genitive pienen tauon is very common.)