Learn Hardcore Finnish: Roskapussi on melkein täynnä, joten vien sen ulos. - The trash bag is almost full, so I take it outside.

“The trash bag is almost full” (most likely here, from context)
or “A trash bag is almost full”, if context suggests we are talking about any trash bag.

Which one is meant is understood from the situation or previous conversation, not from a separate word like “the” or “a.”

What exactly does “melkein” mean here?

melkein means “almost, nearly.”

In “Roskapussi on melkein täynnä”, it modifies täynnä:

täynnä = full
melkein täynnä = almost full / nearly full

You can also use melkein with verbs and other adjectives:

Myöhästyin melkein. = I almost missed (it).
Se on melkein mahdotonta. = It’s almost impossible.

Why is it “täynnä” and not “täysi”?

Both are related to the idea of being full, but they are used differently.

täysi is an adjective: “full”
täynnä is a special form (historically an essive case form) used in certain fixed expressions, especially after olla (“to be”).

For containers being full, Finnish normally says:

X on täynnä (jotakin). = X is full (of something).

So:

Roskapussi on melkein täynnä. = The trash bag is almost full.

You might see täysi in other structures:

täysi roskapussi = a full trash bag
Lasit ovat täysiä. = The glasses are full. (adjective agreeing with the noun)

But with olla + predicate about a container, olla täynnä is the most idiomatic.

Can you say “Roskapussi on melkein täysi” instead? What’s the difference?

You can say “Roskapussi on melkein täysi”, and it’s understandable and not wrong, but it sounds a bit less natural in everyday speech.

Nuance:

Roskapussi on melkein täynnä.
– Very normal, idiomatic way to say “The trash bag is almost full.”
Roskapussi on melkein täysi.
– Grammatically fine, but feels a bit more like a descriptive adjective statement, less like the usual “container is full” formula.

In practice, native speakers strongly prefer “on (melkein) täynnä” for things being full.

What does “joten” mean, and how is it different from “koska” and “siksi”?

joten roughly means “so / therefore” and introduces a result or consequence.

In the sentence:

Roskapussi on melkein täynnä, joten vien sen ulos.
= The trash bag is almost full, so I’ll take it out.

Compare:

koska = because (introduces the reason)
- Vien sen ulos, koska roskapussi on melkein täynnä.
  = I’ll take it out because the trash bag is almost full.
siksi = for that reason / that’s why (also a result word, but used a bit differently)
- Roskapussi on melkein täynnä, siksi vien sen ulos.
  = The trash bag is almost full; that’s why I’ll take it out.

So:

joten = “so / therefore” (connects cause → result)
koska = “because” (connects result → cause)
siksi = “for that reason / that’s why” (adverb of reason, often followed by a normal sentence)

Why is there a comma before “joten”?

In Finnish writing, independent clauses connected by words like ja, mutta, vaan, sekä, tai, eli, joten are usually separated by a comma.

Here we have two clauses:

Roskapussi on melkein täynnä
vien sen ulos

They are linked by joten, so a comma is standard:

Roskapussi on melkein täynnä, joten vien sen ulos.

This is a punctuation rule, similar to putting a comma before “so” in many English sentences when it joins two full clauses.

Where is the subject “I” in “vien sen ulos”? Why isn’t “minä” written?

The subject “I” is included inside the verb ending -n.

Verb: viedä = to take (something somewhere)
1st person singular: vien = I take / I will take

Finnish is a pro-drop language: the personal pronoun (minä, “I”) is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Vien sen ulos. = I’ll take it out.
Minä vien sen ulos. = I’ll take it out. (with explicit emphasis on “I”)

You normally add minä if you want to emphasize the subject (e.g., “I will take it out, not you”).

Why is it “vien” and not “otan” or “tuon”?

These verbs express different directions of movement:

viedä = to take (something) away from the current place to somewhere else
tuoda = to bring (something) to the speaker’s place
ottaa = to take, pick up (very general; does not itself say “away” or “to”)

Here, the speaker is inside and takes the trash bag away to outside, so viedä is the natural verb:

vien sen ulos = I take it out (away from here, to outside)

Examples:

Tuon roskapussin sisään. = I’ll bring the trash bag inside (towards me/us).
Otanko roskapussin? = Should I take / pick up the trash bag? (no direction expressed)

Is “vien” present or future tense? How do you say “I will take it out”?

vien is morphologically present tense, but Finnish usually uses the present tense for both present and near future actions.

So:

Vien sen ulos. can mean
- I’m taking it out (now / in a moment).
- I will take it out (soon / later), depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize the future, you can add time expressions:

Vien sen ulos kohta. = I’ll take it out soon.
Vien sen ulos huomenna. = I will take it out tomorrow.

But there is no separate future tense form; present covers it.

Why is it “sen” and not “se” or “sitä”?

All of these are forms of the 3rd person singular pronoun se (“it / that” for inanimate things). The form depends on case:

se = nominative (subject form)
sen = genitive / accusative (often used for a total object)
sitä = partitive (used for a partial object, among other things)

In “vien sen ulos”, sen is the object of the verb vien (I take it out), and we are talking about the whole trash bag being moved, a completed action → total object → accusative/genitive form:

vien sen = I take it (all of it).

If the action were incomplete or about only part of something, you might use sitä, but with viedä + a concrete object like this, sen is the normal choice.

What does “ulos” mean, and how is it different from “ulkona” and “ulkoon”?

These are all related to “outside,” but they express different spatial relations:

ulos = out, to the outside (direction, moving from inside to outside)
- vien sen ulos = I take it out.
ulkona = outside, outdoors (location, being in that place)
- Roskapussi on ulkona. = The trash bag is outside.
ulkoon (more formal / rare) = into the outside area; usually “ulos” is used instead in everyday speech.

Key idea: Finnish often distinguishes between location and movement with different forms:

Missä? (Where at?) → ulkona
Mihin? / Mistä? (Where to / from?) → ulos (to outside) / ulos + -sta forms etc.

Can the word order in “vien sen ulos” change? Could you say “Sen vien ulos” or “Ulos vien sen”?

Yes, Finnish allows flexible word order, but the neutral order here is:

Vien sen ulos. = I’ll take it out. (no special emphasis)

Other orders are possible but usually add emphasis or a specific focus:

Sen vien ulos.
Emphasizes sen (“that one / that thing I’ll take out”), maybe implying contrast:
- That one I’ll take out (not some other thing).
Ulos vien sen.
Emphasizes ulos (the direction), maybe in contrast to another place:
- I’ll take it out (not, say, to the balcony or somewhere else).

In everyday, unmarked speech, “vien sen ulos” is the normal choice.

If there were many trash bags, how would the sentence change?

For multiple trash bags:

Roskapussit ovat melkein täynnä, joten vien ne ulos.

Changes:

roskapussi → roskapussit (plural subject: trash bags)
on → ovat (3rd person singular → plural)
sen → ne (singular object “it” → plural “them”)

Meaning: “The trash bags are almost full, so I’ll take them out.”