Learn Hardcore Finnish: Luen illalla kirjaa ja kertaan sanastoa ennen nukkumaanmenoa. - In the evening I read a book and review vocabulary before going to sleep.

kirjan (total object, accusative/genitive) implies a complete or bounded action:
- Luen kirjan illalla. = I will read the (whole) book this evening.
kirjaa (partitive object) presents the action as ongoing, uncompleted, or of indefinite amount:
- Luen illalla kirjaa. = I will be reading (some of) a book in the evening.
  → It doesn’t say or promise that you will finish it.

Here, the focus is on the activity of reading for some time, not on finishing the entire book, so kirjaa is natural.

Why is sanastoa also in the partitive?

Sanastoa is the partitive form of sanasto (vocabulary). The verb kerrata (to revise, to go over, to review) very often takes the partitive when you’re talking about practising / going over material, not necessarily all of it:

kertaan sanastoa = I (repeatedly / generally) review vocabulary.
kertaan sanaston would mean I go through the entire vocabulary list (more bounded, total).

So sanastoa here fits the idea of studying some vocabulary, without specifying exactly how much.

What is the difference in meaning between luen kirjaa and luen kirjan?

Luen kirjaa.
- Aspect: ongoing, uncompleted, open‑ended.
- Emphasis: you’re engaged in the activity of reading.
- English-like: I’m reading a book / I read some of a book.
Luen kirjan.
- Aspect: complete / total object.
- Emphasis: you finish the book.
- English-like: I (will) read the (whole) book.

In your sentence, luen illalla kirjaa suggests “I will spend (some of) the evening reading”, not necessarily finishing the book.

Why is it illalla and not ilta or illassa?

Illalla is the adessive case of ilta (evening):

ilta = evening (basic form)
illalla = in the evening / this evening / at night (time expression)

Finnish often uses -lla / -llä for “at / on / during” with time words:

päivällä = during the day
yöllä = at night
maanantaina (here -na) = on Monday

Illassa is possible but it usually has a more literal or spatial meaning (“in the evening (as a situation, event)”), and is much less common in this basic time sense. For a simple “in the evening” time adverbial, illalla is the standard form.

Could the word order be Illalla luen kirjaa ja kertaan sanastoa instead?

Yes, absolutely.

Luen illalla kirjaa…
Illalla luen kirjaa…

Both are correct. Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and what you put first is what you emphasise:

Illalla luen kirjaa… puts more focus on time: As for the evening, that’s when I’ll be reading…
Luen illalla kirjaa… starts with the activity and then adds when it happens.

In everyday speech, both versions sound natural.

How is the verb luen formed from lukea?

The dictionary form is lukea (to read).

For 1st person singular present (I read), Finnish uses the stem lue‑ plus the ending -n:

lukea → stem lue- → luen

Other present forms:

minä luen = I read
sinä luet = you read
hän lukee = he/she reads
me luemme = we read
te luette = you (pl.) read
he lukevat = they read

Why does kertaan look so different from the infinitive kerrata?

This is due to consonant gradation, a common sound change in Finnish.

Dictionary form: kerrata (to revise)
Stem in many personal forms: kerta- → with gradation rr → rt

So:

kerrata → stem kerta- → kertaan (I revise)
kertaat, kertaa, kertaamme, kertaatte, kertaavat

Compare:

puhua → puhun (no gradation)
hakata → hakkaan (kk stays strong here in the stem)

With kerrata, the alternation rr / rt is the specific gradation pair in this verb.

Why is it ennen nukkumaanmenoa and not some other form?

There are two key grammar points:

The word “ennen” (before) requires the partitive case.
- After ennen, the noun must be in the partitive:
  - ennen iltaa = before the evening
  - ennen tenttiä = before the exam
  - ennen nukkumaanmenoa = before going to sleep
“nukkumaanmeno” is a noun meaning “going to sleep”.
- It is composed of:
  - nukkumaan = (to) sleep (illative of nukkua, used after mennä)
  - meno = going
    → Together: nukkumaanmeno = the act of going to sleep.

So after ennen, you need the partitive: nukkumaanmenoa. Literally: before (the) going‑to‑sleep.

Why is nukkumaanmeno written as one word here? Could it be nukkumaan menoa?

Both are seen:

ennen nukkumaanmenoa – treated as a compound noun (quite common and standard)
ennen nukkumaan menoa – written as two words, also used, especially in informal or more “transparent” style

When nukkumaanmeno is felt as a fixed expression meaning “going to sleep”, it’s very natural to write it as one word, like many Finnish compounds:

koulumatka (school + trip) = trip to school
iltaruoka (evening + food) = evening meal

In normal modern usage, ennen nukkumaanmenoa as one word is perfectly idiomatic.

Could I say ennen kuin menen nukkumaan instead of ennen nukkumaanmenoa?

Yes, and it’s very common:

…ennen nukkumaanmenoa.
…ennen kuin menen nukkumaan.

They mean essentially the same thing:

ennen nukkumaanmenoa = before going to sleep (with a noun)
ennen kuin menen nukkumaan = before I go to sleep (full clause with a verb)

The noun construction is a bit more compact, the clause version can feel slightly more colloquial and explicit.

Does the present tense luen / kertaan here refer to the future?

Yes. Finnish typically uses the present tense to talk about future actions, especially when context or time expressions (like illalla, huomenna) make it clear:

Luen illalla kirjaa. = I’ll read / I’m going to read a book in the evening.
Huomenna menen kauppaan. = I’ll go to the store tomorrow.

Finnish does not have a separate “will” future form like English; present tense + time expression covers this use.

Is there any difference between saying kertaan sanastoa and kerron sanastoa?

Yes, they are completely different verbs:

kerrata → kertaan = to revise, to go over, to review (study sense)
- Kertaan sanastoa. = I’m reviewing vocabulary.
kertoa → kerron = to tell (a story, information)
- Kerron sanastoa. would be strange; literally “I tell vocabulary” (not natural).

So for “go over vocabulary, revise vocabulary”, you must use kerrata → kertaan.

Could I say Luen illalla kirjan ja kertaan sanaston? How would that change the meaning?

Yes, grammatically it’s correct, but it changes the aspect:

Luen illalla kirjaa ja kertaan sanastoa.
- Open‑ended, ongoing activities: I’ll be reading (some) of a book and going over (some) vocabulary.
Luen illalla kirjan ja kertaan sanaston.
- Total objects: I’ll read the whole book and go through all of the vocabulary (e.g. all items in a specific list).

The original sentence with kirjaa / sanastoa is more about studying for a while, not necessarily completing everything.

Why is ennen placed before nukkumaanmenoa instead of after, like many Finnish postpositions?

Finnish has both postpositions and prepositions:

Postposition: comes after its complement
- pöydän alla = under the table
Preposition: comes before its complement
- ennen tenttiä = before the exam

Ennen is normally used as a preposition (before + partitive):

ennen nukkumaanmenoa
ennen kouluun lähtöä = before leaving for school

There’s also the conjunction ennen kuin (“before” followed by a clause), but in your sentence ennen is functioning as a preposition.

Can illalla and ennen nukkumaanmenoa appear together like this, or is it redundant?

They work well together and are not redundant:

illalla = in the evening (broad time frame)
ennen nukkumaanmenoa = specifically before going to sleep (a point within that evening)

Together, they narrow down the timing:

In the evening, and more precisely, in that part of the evening before you go to bed.