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Harjaan hampaat aamulla ja illalla.

Harjaan hampaat aamulla ja illalla.
I brush my teeth in the morning and in the evening.
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Questions & Answers about Harjaan hampaat aamulla ja illalla.

Why is there no word for “my” before teeth?
Finnish often omits possessive pronouns with body parts when the possessor is clear from the subject. With a 1st-person verb, Harjaan hampaat is naturally understood as “I brush my teeth.” You can add a possessive suffix and say Harjaan hampaani (“I brush my teeth”)—slightly more formal or explicit. Using a separate pronoun, Harjaan minun hampaani, is rare and only for contrast or emphasis (e.g., “I brush my teeth, not someone else’s”).
Why is it hampaat and not hampaita?

This is the total vs. partitive object distinction:

  • In neutral, complete actions (especially habitual statements like this), Finnish prefers the total object: Harjaan hampaat.
  • Use the partitive hampaita for ongoing/incomplete or indefinite actions: Harjaan hampaita (“I’m brushing (some) teeth / I’m in the middle of brushing”).
  • Negation requires the partitive: En harjaa hampaita.
What form is harjaan, and how is it formed?

It’s the 1st person singular present of the verb harjata (“to brush”). Harjata is Verb Type 4 (-ata/-ätä). You remove -ta and add personal endings to the stem harjaa-:

  • minä harjaan
  • sinä harjaat
  • hän harjaa
  • me harjaamme
  • te harjaatte
  • he harjaavat
Why doesn’t the sentence include the subject pronoun minä?
Finnish verb endings encode the subject, so minä is optional unless you want emphasis or contrast. Minä harjaan hampaat is fine, but the unmarked, neutral version drops minä.
What case are aamulla and illalla, and why do they end in -lla?

They’re in the adessive case (-lla/-llä). Parts of the day usually take the adessive to mean “in/at”:

  • aamulla = in the morning
  • päivällä = in the daytime/afternoon
  • illalla = in the evening
  • yöllä = at night
Can the word order change?

Yes, Finnish word order is flexible. You can front the time phrase for emphasis or flow:

  • Aamulla ja illalla harjaan hampaat. (emphasizes time)
  • Hampaat harjaan aamulla ja illalla. (emphasizes the object) The given order, Harjaan hampaat aamulla ja illalla, is neutral.
Is starting the sentence with a verb unusual?
No. When you omit the subject pronoun (which is typical), the verb naturally comes first. It’s completely normal in Finnish.
Is harjata the only natural verb here? Can I say pestä hampaat?

Both are common:

  • Harjata hampaat = to brush teeth (more specific).
  • Pestä hampaat = to wash/brush teeth (very common in everyday speech). Either is acceptable; harjata is just more “brush-specific.”
What’s up with hammas → hampaat? Where does the “p” come from?

Hammas has an irregular stem hampa- in many forms. Learn these key forms:

  • nominative sg: hammas
  • genitive sg: hampaan
  • nominative pl: hampaat
  • partitive pl: hampaita This is a historical stem change; you mostly memorize it.
How would I say “every morning and evening”?

Several natural options:

  • Harjaan hampaat aamuisin ja iltaisin. (using the habitual -isin forms)
  • Harjaan hampaat joka aamu ja ilta.
  • Idiomatic: Harjaan hampaat aamuin illoin.
Could I add the possessive suffix: Harjaan hampaani aamulla ja illalla? Any nuance?
Yes. Harjaan hampaani is correct and slightly more formal/explicit. In everyday conversation, Harjaan hampaat is equally natural and very common.
How do I make it negative or put it in the past?
  • Negative present: En harjaa hampaita aamulla enkä illalla. (enkä = “and not”)
  • Simple past: Harjasin hampaat aamulla ja illalla.
  • Negative past: En harjannut hampaita eilen illalla.
  • Present perfect: Olen harjannut hampaat.
  • Negative present perfect: En ole harjannut hampaita.
Do I need a comma before ja?
No. Simple coordination with ja doesn’t take a comma: aamulla ja illalla.
How do I pronounce the sentence?
  • Stress the first syllable of each word.
  • Long vowels and double consonants are held longer: haa in harjaan, paa in hampaat, aa in aamulla, and the double ll in illalla.
  • j sounds like English “y” in “yes”: harjaan ≈ “HAR-yaan.”
Can I use sekä … että … instead of ja?
Yes. Harjaan hampaat sekä aamulla että illalla means “both in the morning and in the evening,” a bit more formal/emphatic than plain ja.