Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.

Before the guests come, the trash can must be emptied.

Breakdown of Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.

• olla: to be
• tulla: to come
• ennen kuin: before
• vieras: the guest
• tyhjentää: to empty
• roskis: the trash can

Questions & Answers about Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.

Why do we need kuin after ennen in ennen kuin vieraat tulevat?

In modern standard Finnish, when ennen is followed by a full clause (with a verb), it is almost always written as the two‑word conjunction ennen kuin:

• ennen kuin vieraat tulevat = before the guests arrive

Use:

• ennen + noun in the partitive if there is no verb:
  
  • ennen vieraita = before (meeting/seeing) the guests
• ennen kuin + clause if there is a verb:
  
  • ennen kuin vieraat tulevat = before the guests arrive

So here, because we have a verb (tulevat), we use ennen kuin as a fixed pair.

Is kuin optional here? Can I say ennen vieraat tulevat?

No, kuin is not optional in standard written Finnish in this structure.

• ❌ ennen vieraat tulevat – ungrammatical
• ✅ ennen kuin vieraat tulevat

Spoken Finnish sometimes bends rules, but for correct Finnish (and especially writing), keep ennen kuin together when followed by a clause.

Why is there a comma between ennen kuin vieraat tulevat and roskis on tyhjennettävä?

Because ennen kuin vieraat tulevat is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Finnish normally uses a comma:

• between a subordinate clause and the main clause when the subordinate clause comes first

So:

• Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.
• Roskis on tyhjennettävä, ennen kuin vieraat tulevat.

Both are correct, and both need the comma.

What form is vieraat, and why is it not something like vieraiden?

Vieraat is:

• the nominative plural of vieras (guest)

It’s the subject of the verb tulevat:

• vieraat tulevat = the guests are coming / arrive

If you used vieraiden, that’s the genitive plural, and it would not fit as the subject here:

• ❌ ennen kuin vieraiden tulevat – wrong
• ✅ ennen kuin vieraat tulevat – the guests (subject) arrive (verb)

Why is it tulevat and not tulee?

The verb agrees with the subject in number:

• vieras tulee = the guest comes (singular subject → singular verb)
• vieraat tulevat = the guests come (plural subject → plural verb)

Since vieraat is plural, the verb must be plural too: tulevat.

What exactly does roskis mean? Is it formal?

Roskis is a common, slightly informal word for:

• trash can, bin, garbage can

Other options:

• roskakori – more neutral: waste basket, trash bin
• jäteastia – more official/technical: waste container

In everyday speech and informal writing, roskis is perfectly normal. In a formal document you might see jäteastia instead.

Why is roskis in the basic form (nominative) and not something like roskista or roskiksen?

Here, roskis is the subject of the main clause:

• roskis (subject) on tyhjennettävä (predicate)
  → the bin must be emptied

Subjects are typically in the nominative (basic) form.

• roskista = partitive (e.g. tyhjennä roskista vähän = empty the bin a bit)
• roskiksen = genitive (e.g. roskiksen kansi = the lid of the bin)

Those would express different relationships and are not correct as the subject here.

What kind of structure is roskis on tyhjennettävä? How does it mean “must be emptied”?

This is a very typical necessity / obligation construction in Finnish:

• olla (here on) + passive present participle (here tyhjennettävä)

It means roughly:

• roskis on tyhjennettävä = the bin has to be emptied / must be emptied

So:

• on = is
• tyhjennettävä (from tyhjentää = to empty) functions like “(something that) must be emptied”

Together they express necessity, without saying who must do it.

Who is supposed to empty the bin in roskis on tyhjennettävä? It doesn’t say who.

Exactly: the doer is left implicit. This is common in Finnish.

• roskis on tyhjennettävä = the bin must be emptied (by someone / by us / by whoever is responsible)

The sentence focuses on the necessity of the action, not on the person doing it. Context usually tells you who is responsible (e.g. you, the speaker, everybody in the household).

What is the difference between roskis on tyhjennettävä and roskis pitää/täytyy tyhjentää?

All three express necessity, but with slightly different flavors:

1. roskis on tyhjennettävä

   • very typical, fairly neutral, somewhat impersonal
   • the bin must be emptied

2. roskis pitää tyhjentää

   • uses pitää (to need / must)
   • very common, also fairly neutral
   • the bin needs to be emptied / must be emptied

3. roskis täytyy tyhjentää

   • uses täytyy (must / have to)
   • can sound a bit stronger, more like an unavoidable obligation

Functionally, they are often interchangeable in everyday speech.

How is tyhjennettävä formed from tyhjentää?

Tyhjentää = to empty

To form tyhjennettävä:

1. Take the verb stem: tyhjentä-
2. Apply the passive participle pattern for -tää/-ttää verbs:
   • tyhjentä- → tyhjennettävä

This form is the passive present participle, used in necessity expressions like:

• on tyhjennettävä = must be emptied
• on tehtävä (from tehdä) = must be done
• on siivottava (from siivota) = must be cleaned

Can I change the word order to Roskis on tyhjennettävä ennen kuin vieraat tulevat?

Yes. That is completely correct and very natural:

• Roskis on tyhjennettävä ennen kuin vieraat tulevat.

Meaning is the same. The difference is only emphasis / flow:

• Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.
  → slight emphasis on the time condition
• Roskis on tyhjennettävä ennen kuin vieraat tulevat.
  → slight emphasis on the need to empty the bin

Both are perfectly fine.

Could I say something like Ennen vieraiden tuloa roskis on tyhjennettävä instead?

Yes, that’s another natural way to phrase it:

• Ennen vieraiden tuloa roskis on tyhjennettävä.
  = Before the guests’ arrival, the bin must be emptied.

Here:

• vieraiden = genitive plural (of the guests)
• tuloa = partitive of tulo (arrival)
• ennen + genitive + noun → before X’s Y / before the Y of X

This sounds slightly more formal or written than ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, but it is common and correct.

Is there any stylistic or politeness issue with this sentence?

No. The sentence:

• Ennen kuin vieraat tulevat, roskis on tyhjennettävä.

is neutral and natural in tone. It:

• sounds appropriate in everyday conversation
• also works in neutral written text (emails, instructions, etc.)

Only roskis is a bit informal compared to jäteastia, but in most contexts that’s completely fine.