Learn Hardcore Finnish: Opettaja sanoi, että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla. - The teacher said that my pronunciation is already at a good intermediate level.

Opettaja sanoi = The teacher said (main clause)
että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla = that the pronunciation is already at a good intermediate level (subordinate/content clause)

In Finnish, you must put a comma before että when it introduces this kind of subordinate clause, even though English does not require a comma before that.

Why is on (is) in the present tense when sanoi (said) is in the past? Shouldn’t it be oli?

Finnish chooses the tense in each clause according to when the thing is true, not according to the tense of the reporting verb.

Opettaja sanoi = the saying happened in the past.
ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla = the pronunciation is at that level (at the time of saying, and probably still now).

If you said:

Opettaja sanoi, että ääntäminen oli hyvällä keskitasolla.
→ The teacher said that the pronunciation *was at a good intermediate level.*

this usually suggests that the pronunciation was at that level back then, and it’s not clear whether it still is now. So on is used because the level is treated as currently valid.

Why is ääntäminen used instead of the verb ääntää?

Ääntäminen is a noun, not a verb. It’s formed from the verb ääntää (to pronounce) using the ‑minen ending:

ääntää → ääntäminen = pronouncing, pronunciation

In the sentence, ääntäminen is the subject:

ääntäminen (subject) on jo hyvällä keskitasolla (predicate)
→ the pronunciation is already at a good intermediate level

You can’t use a finite verb as a subject like this, so you need the noun form ääntäminen, much like English uses “pronunciation” instead of “to pronounce” in this kind of sentence.

Why is there no word for “your” in ääntäminen? How do we know whose pronunciation it is?

Finnish often leaves possessives implicit when the owner is clear from context.

Literally, the sentence is more like:

The teacher said that pronunciation is already at a good intermediate level.

Because the teacher is talking to you, it’s naturally understood as your pronunciation.

You can make the owner explicit by using a possessive structure:

Opettaja sanoi, että ääntämisesi on jo hyvällä keskitasolla.
→ The teacher said that *your pronunciation is already at a good intermediate level.*

Here:

ääntäminen → ääntämise‑ (stem) + ‑si (your)
= ääntämisesi (your pronunciation)

Both versions are grammatically correct. The version without the possessive is a bit more neutral and very typical in speech when the context is obvious.

What does jo mean here, and how is it different from vielä or nyt?

Jo means already.

ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla
→ the pronunciation is *already at a good intermediate level*
(so it reached that level earlier than maybe expected)

Differences:

jo = already
- Focus: something has already happened / been achieved.
vielä = still / yet
- positive: still
  - Ääntäminen on vielä alkeistasolla. = Pronunciation is still at a beginner level.
- negative: yet
  - Ääntäminen ei ole vielä hyvällä tasolla. = Pronunciation is not at a good level yet.
nyt = now
- Neutral about whether it was true before; just means at this moment.

In this sentence, jo suggests a slightly positive or pleasantly surprised tone: already at a good intermediate level!

Why is it hyvällä keskitasolla with ‑lla, and not just hyvä keskitaso or keskitasossa?

The phrase olla jollakin tasolla (to be at some level) in Finnish normally uses the adessive case (‑lla / ‑llä), not the inessive (‑ssa / ‑ssä).

hyvä keskitaso = a good intermediate level (basic dictionary form, nominative)
hyvällä keskitasolla = at a good intermediate level (adessive)

Breakdown:

hyvä → hyvällä (good → on a good …)
keskitaso → keskitasolla (intermediate level → on an intermediate level)

So:

ääntäminen on hyvällä keskitasolla
= pronunciation is *on/at a good intermediate level*

Using keskitasossa (in the intermediate level) would sound wrong here; olla jollakin tasolla is a fixed, natural pattern, and it specifically uses the adessive (‑lla).

Can you break down hyvällä keskitasolla word by word and by case?

Yes. It’s basically one noun phrase in the adessive case:

hyvä = good
- Stem: hyvä‑
- Adessive singular: hyvällä (on a good …)
keskitaso = intermediate level (lit. middle level)
- keski = middle
- taso = level
- Adessive singular: keskitasolla (on an intermediate level)

Together:

hyvällä keskitasolla
- hyvällä: adjective in adessive, agrees with keskitasolla
- keskitasolla: head noun in adessive
  → at a good intermediate level

So grammatically:
olla + NP in adessive = to be at (some level, position, state).

Could we leave out hyvällä and just say keskitasolla? How would the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

Opettaja sanoi, että ääntäminen on jo keskitasolla.
→ The teacher said that the pronunciation is already at an intermediate level.

Difference in nuance:

keskitasolla = simply at an intermediate level (neutral)
hyvällä keskitasolla = at a *good intermediate level
→ slightly more positive: maybe on the *upper side of intermediate, or at least solidly intermediate.

So hyvällä adds an approving, positive tone to the assessment.

Can the word order inside the että‑clause change, for example että ääntäminen on keskitasolla jo hyvällä or että jo ääntäminen on hyvällä keskitasolla?

Finnish word order is fairly flexible, but not everything is natural.

The default, neutral order here is:

että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla

About the examples:

että ääntäminen on keskitasolla jo hyvällä
- This sounds unnatural/wrong.
- The adjective hyvällä should stay next to its noun keskitasolla.
että jo ääntäminen on hyvällä keskitasolla
- Grammatically possible, but it changes the focus.
- Now jo seems to emphasize ääntäminen itself, roughly:
  that already the *pronunciation is at a good intermediate level (perhaps in contrast to other skills)*
- You would use this in a context where you’re contrasting pronunciation with, say, grammar or vocabulary.

So:

For a simple, neutral statement, keep:
että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla.
Move jo or other elements only when you deliberately want to shift emphasis.

Could we replace että with a colon and quotation marks, like Opettaja sanoi: "Ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla."? Is there any difference?

Yes, that’s also correct, and it’s common especially in writing:

Opettaja sanoi: "Ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla."

Difference:

että‑clause:
- Opettaja sanoi, että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla.
- This is indirect speech (reported speech).
- It doesn’t claim to quote the teacher’s words exactly; it just gives the content.
colon + quotes:
- Opettaja sanoi: "Ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla."
- This is direct speech, representing the teacher’s actual words.

In everyday Finnish, both patterns are fine. The että‑clause is more common in continuous narrative; direct quotes are used when you want to show exactly what someone said.

How do you pronounce the double letters and ä’s in opettaja, että, and ääntäminen?

Key points:

Stress
- Finnish always stresses the first syllable:
  - Opettaja
  - Että
  - ÄÄntäminen
Double consonant (tt)
- In että and opettaja, tt is long:
  - että: [et‑ta], with a short pause or length on t
  - opettaja: [o‑pet‑ta‑ja], the t is held slightly longer than in English.
Double vowel (ää)
- ää is a long version of ä.
- ä is like the a in “cat”, but usually a bit clearer.
- ää is that same sound but held longer:
  - ääntäminen: the first syllable ää is long and stressed.

Very rough approximations in English-like spelling:

opettaja ≈ OP-et-ta-ya
että ≈ ET-ta (with a long t)
ääntäminen ≈ AEAE-n-ta-mi-nen (first AE long and stressed)

Are there other verbs like sanoa that often take että‑clauses in the same way?

Yes, many verbs that express saying, thinking, knowing, believing, hoping, etc. often take an että‑clause meaning that …. Some common ones:

kertoa = to tell
- Hän kertoi, että tunti alkaa pian.
  → He/She told (us) that the lesson starts soon.
luulla = to think, to suppose
- Luulen, että se on totta.
  → I think that it is true.
tietää = to know
- Tiedän, että olet oikeassa.
  → I know that you are right.
uskoa = to believe
- Uskon, että onnistut.
  → I believe that you will succeed.
toivoa = to hope
- Toivon, että sää paranee.
  → I hope that the weather improves.

They all use että in the same structural way as:

Opettaja sanoi, että ääntäminen on jo hyvällä keskitasolla.