Lupaan korjata virheen heti, jos sellainen löytyy.

I promise to fix the mistake immediately if such is found.

Breakdown of Lupaan korjata virheen heti, jos sellainen löytyy.

• minä: I
• jos: if
• heti: immediately
• korjata: to fix

Questions & Answers about Lupaan korjata virheen heti, jos sellainen löytyy.

Why is there no pronoun like minä in Lupaan? How do we know it means I promise?

In Finnish the personal pronoun is usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person:

• lupaan = I promise (1st person singular, ending -n)
• lupaat = you (sg) promise (2nd person singular)
• lupaa = he/she promises (3rd person singular)

So minä lupaan is possible, but normally shortened to just Lupaan, unless you want to emphasize I (for example, I promise, not someone else).

Why is korjata in the infinitive form instead of korjaan?

Finnish uses the basic infinitive (dictionary form) after many verbs that express wanting, intending, promising, being able to, etc. For example:

• Haluan korjata virheen. – I want to correct the error.
• Aion korjata virheen. – I’m going to correct the error.
• Lupaan korjata virheen. – I promise to correct the error.

If you said Lupaan korjaan virheen, it would be ungrammatical. After lupaan (I promise), the “second verb” must be in the infinitive: korjata.

Why is virheen in this form? What’s the difference between virhe, virheen, and virhettä as objects?