Learn Hardcore Finnish: Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja, joten odotamme hetken. - In the parking garage there is a long line of cars, so we wait for a moment.

Finnish often uses a case ending instead of a separate preposition like English in, on, at. So instead of saying “in the parking garage” with an extra word, Finnish simply changes the noun itself.

Why is the verb on (is) singular, even though there are many cars?

The grammatical subject of the sentence is pitkä jono (a long line/queue), which is singular.

pitkä jono autoja = a long line of cars
The head noun is jono (line), not autot (cars).

So the structure is:

Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja.
Literally: In the parking garage is a long line of cars.

Because jono is singular, the verb on (3rd person singular of olla, “to be”) is also singular.

Why is it jono autoja and not jono autot or jono autoista?

Autoja is the partitive plural of auto (car). Here’s why it’s used:

jono autoja = literally a line of cars (an indefinite group of cars)
The partitive plural (autoja) often appears after a noun like jono when talking about a collection or quantity of things.

Alternatives and why they’re different:

jono autot – grammatically odd here; sounds like you’re identifying which specific cars rather than a general line.
jono autoista – would mean something like a line from the cars or a line formed out of the cars, and isn’t the natural way to express this idea.

So jono autoja is the normal way to say a (long) line of cars in Finnish.

Why is autoja and not autoita the partitive plural of auto?

The correct partitive plural of auto is autoja, not autoita, because of Finnish vowel and consonant patterns.

For many two-syllable words ending in -o, the partitive plural ends in -ja / -jä:

talo → taloja (houses)
pomo → pomoja (bosses)
auto → autoja (cars)

The ending -ita / -itä appears with other noun types (e.g. käsine → käsineitä), but auto belongs to the -ja group, so autoja is the standard form.

How does the structure Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja work? Why does it start with the place?

This is a typical existential sentence in Finnish, where the structure is often:

[Place] + on + [something]

So:

Parkkihallissa = in the parking garage (location first)
on = there is
pitkä jono autoja = a long line of cars

Literally: “In the parking garage is a long line of cars.”

English prefers to say: “There is a long line of cars in the parking garage.”
Finnish prefers to start with the location or context, and then state what exists there.

Putting the place first is very common and natural in Finnish when introducing something that exists or appears somewhere.

Why is there no word for “there” in “There is a long line of cars in the parking garage”?

Finnish usually doesn’t use a special word like English “there” in these existential sentences.

English: There is a long line of cars in the parking garage.
Finnish: Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja.

The function of English “there” (a dummy subject) is handled by the location phrase + on in Finnish. So parkkihallissa on already expresses the idea of “there is in the parking garage”, without needing a separate “there.”

Why don’t we say me odotamme, but just odotamme?

In Finnish, personal pronouns are usually dropped, because the verb ending shows the person clearly.

odottaa = to wait
odotamme = we wait / we are waiting

The ending -mme tells you it’s we, so me is not necessary:

(Me) odotamme hetken. = We’ll wait a moment.

You include me mostly for emphasis or contrast:

Me odotamme, mutta he lähtevät.
We will wait, but they are leaving.

What exactly does odotamme mean, and how is it formed?

Odotamme is the 1st person plural (we) form of the verb odottaa (to wait).

Conjugation of odottaa in the present tense:

(minä) odotan = I wait
(sinä) odotat = you wait (singular)
hän odottaa = he/she waits
(me) odotamme = we wait
(te) odotatte = you wait (plural/formal)
he odottavat = they wait

So odotamme simply means “we wait / we are waiting / we’ll wait”, depending on context.

Why is it odotamme hetken and not odotamme hetki?

Hetken is the genitive/accusative form of hetki (moment), and this form is commonly used to express duration:

odotamme hetken = we’ll wait for a moment / for a little while

Using the basic form:

odotamme hetki is incorrect in standard Finnish.

Other common time expressions work the same way:

odotan tunnin = I’ll wait (for) an hour
odotan päivän = I’ll wait (for) a day

So hetken is needed here to express for a moment correctly.

What’s the difference between hetken and hetkeksi?

Both come from hetki (moment), but they have different case endings and meanings:

hetken = genitive/accusative
- Used to express how long something lasts:
  - Odotamme hetken. = We’ll wait for a moment.
hetkeksi = translative
- Often used to express a temporary change of state or role:
  - Istu hetkeksi. = Sit down for a moment.
  - Jätän laukun tähän hetkeksi. = I’ll leave the bag here for a moment.

In this sentence, we’re describing the duration of waiting, so hetken is the natural choice.

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

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

Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja, joten odotamme hetken.
= There is a long line of cars in the parking garage, so we’ll wait a moment.

Koska means “because” and introduces a reason:

Odotamme hetken, koska parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja.
= We’ll wait a moment, because there is a long line of cars in the parking garage.

So:

joten = therefore, so (leads to a consequence)
koska = because (gives the cause/reason)

Can the sentence start with Joten odotamme hetken?

You could start a sentence or a reply with Joten odotamme hetken, but it’s more natural when it clearly connects to something said just before:

– Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja.
– Joten odotamme hetken.
– There is a long line of cars in the parking garage.
– So we’ll wait a moment.

In a single written sentence, the standard form is:

Parkkihallissa on pitkä jono autoja, joten odotamme hetken.

Starting with Joten… is more conversational, as a follow-up to already known information.

Could you also say Parkkihallissa on pitkä autojono instead of pitkä jono autoja?

Yes, autojono is a perfectly good Finnish compound noun:

autojono = car queue / line of cars
pitkä autojono = a long line of cars

So you could say:

Parkkihallissa on pitkä autojono.

The meaning is very close to pitkä jono autoja, but there’s a small nuance:

pitkä jono autoja slightly emphasizes that the queue consists of cars (cars as items in a queue).
pitkä autojono treats “car queue” as a single unit, like a set phrase.

Both are natural and correct here.