Breakdown of Kurssin lopussa jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen.
Questions & Answers about Kurssin lopussa jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen.
Kurssin loppu is just the noun phrase “the end of the course.”
To say “at the end of the course” (a time expression), Finnish normally puts the head noun into a local case. Here, loppu (end) takes the inessive ending -ssa → lopussa (“in/at the end”).
So the structure is:
- kurssin = of the course (genitive)
- lopussa = in/at the end (inessive)
Together: kurssin lopussa = at the end of the course.
Kurssin is the genitive singular of kurssi (“course”).
The genitive is used because “end of X” in Finnish is expressed as:
- X + genitive
- loppu (“end”)
So:
- kurssi → kurssin (of the course)
- kurssin loppu = the end of the course
- kurssin lopussa = at the end of the course
So kurssin marks that the end belongs to / is part of the course.
Lopussa is in the inessive case (ending -ssa / -ssä). The inessive’s core meaning is “in, inside,” but it is also very commonly used for time expressions:
- talossa = in the house
- kokouksessa = in the meeting
- kurssin lopussa = at/in the end of the course (time)
So it doesn’t always mean physical “in,” but more generally “in/at (a place or time-frame).”
Formally, todistuksen looks like the genitive singular of todistus (“certificate”), but in this sentence it functions as the accusative (total object).
In Finnish, for most nouns the singular accusative form is identical to the genitive form:
- nominative: todistus
- genitive: todistuksen
- accusative (total object): todistuksen
Here it’s the direct object of saa (“gets/receives”), referring to a whole, complete certificate, so it’s a total object → accusative, even though it looks like genitive.
Todistusta is the partitive singular, which often signals:
- an incomplete/ongoing action, or
- an indefinite amount, or
- is used in many negatives.
Todistuksen as a total object says:
- each pupil gets one full, complete certificate → todistuksen.
If you said saa todistusta, it would suggest something like “gets (some) certificate” in a more indefinite or partial sense, which doesn’t fit the context of receiving an official course certificate.
Also compare the negative:
- jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen = every pupil gets a certificate
- yksikään oppilas ei saa todistusta = no pupil gets a certificate
Note how the negative switches to partitive (todistusta).
The grammatical subject is jokainen oppilas (“each/every pupil”), which is singular in Finnish.
The verb must agree in number with the grammatical subject, so it is singular:
- jokainen oppilas saa … = every pupil gets … (3rd person singular)
- kaikki oppilaat saavat … = all pupils get … (3rd person plural)
Even though the meaning covers many individuals, jokainen takes a singular noun and singular verb.
Yes, you can say both, but there is a nuance difference:
jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen
- literally: each/every pupil gets a certificate
- focuses on each individual in the group, one by one.
- subject: singular → saa
kaikki oppilaat saavat todistuksen
- literally: all (the) pupils get a certificate
- looks at the group as a whole.
- subject: plural → saavat
In practice, the overall meaning is very similar; the choice mainly affects style and emphasis.
Yes. Finnish word order is fairly flexible. Both are correct:
Kurssin lopussa jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen.
- Emphasis on “at the end of the course” (that time frame is highlighted first).
Jokainen oppilas saa todistuksen kurssin lopussa.
- More neutral: starts with the logical subject (“each pupil”).
The basic information doesn’t change; you mainly adjust focus/emphasis.
Finnish doesn’t have a separate future tense. The present tense is used for both present and future, and the time adverbial (here kurssin lopussa) tells you it’s future.
So saa can mean:
- (he) gets (now, habitually)
- (he) will get (in the future)
Here, because of “at the end of the course”, the natural English translation uses the future: “will get a certificate.”
Finnish has no articles (no words corresponding to English “a/an” or “the”).
Definiteness and specificity are expressed instead by:
- context,
- word order,
- case forms,
- and other words (like tämä, se, etc.).
In todistuksen, the fact that it’s a total object in singular and the context (course, certificate) make it behave like “a/the certificate” in English, but there is no separate article word.
Jokainen is a quantifier / pronoun that functions similarly to “every / each” in English.
Key points:
- It is always singular.
- It is usually followed by a singular noun in the nominative:
- jokainen oppilas = every pupil
- jokainen ihminen = every person
- The verb agrees with this singular subject:
- jokainen oppilas saa …
So it’s not a “normal” adjective like iso (big), but a quantifying word that determines the noun.
You can say it, but the meaning changes:
- Oppilas saa todistuksen kurssin lopussa.
- Means “The/A pupil gets a certificate at the end of the course.”
- It refers to one pupil (either specific or generic), not every pupil.
To talk about the group in general without jokainen, you’d more likely say:
- Oppilaat saavat todistuksen kurssin lopussa.
- “The pupils get a certificate at the end of the course.”
So jokainen is essential if you want to keep the idea of “every single pupil.”
Here it is clearly a time expression:
- kurssin lopussa = at the end of the course (time)
The inessive -ssa can refer to location (talossa = in the house) or to time frames (vuodessa = in a year). In this sentence, “end of the course” is interpreted as a moment/period in time, not a physical place.
In Finnish, a double consonant is really longer, and it also makes the preceding vowel shorter.
- kurssin:
- kur-ssin: hold the s a bit longer than in English curse in.
- lopussa:
- lo-pus-sa: the ss is long; don’t lengthen the u, keep it quite short.
So contrast:
- lopa vs loppa (imaginary) – the second has a clearly longer p.
Similarly, loppu vs lopu would be perceived as different words.