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Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.

Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.
The traffic light turns green, and the cars stop in front of the pedestrian crossing.
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Questions & Answers about Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.

Why is liikennevalo singular when in English we usually say traffic lights (plural)?

In Finnish, liikennevalo (literally traffic light) is often treated as a single device, even though it has several colored lights. So:

  • liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi
    = the traffic light (the whole unit) turns green

Finnish can use the plural liikennevalot, especially when talking about a whole set of lights at a junction or several sets of lights:

  • Liikennevalot vaihtuvat vihreiksi.
    = The traffic lights turn green.

But in many contexts, especially when the specific light controlling one crossing is meant, the singular liikennevalo is natural. English prefers the plural; Finnish doesn’t have to.

What’s the difference between vaihtuu and vaihtaa, and why is vaihtuu used here?

Finnish often distinguishes between:

  • a transitive verb (someone/something changes something)
  • an intransitive verb (something changes by itself)

Here:

  • vaihtaa = to change (something)

    • Kuljettaja vaihtaa renkaan. – The driver changes the tire.

  • vaihtua = to change / to be changed (by itself, or without saying who changes it)

    • Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi. – The traffic light turns green.

In the sentence, the light changes state by itself (we don’t mention a person operating it), so the intransitive vaihtua → vaihtuu is used.

Form breakdown:

  • Infinitive: vaihtua
  • 3rd person singular present: vaihtuu
    • (stem vaihdu-
      • ending -u-
        • 3rd person -u → spelled -uu)
Why is it vihreäksi and not just vihreä?

Vihreäksi is in the translative case (-ksi). This case is used to express a change of state: into / to / becoming something.

Pattern:

  • vaihtua + translative = to change into X

So:

  • Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi.
    Literally: The traffic light changes into green.

Other examples:

  • Vesi jäätyy jääksi. – Water freezes into ice.
  • Hän tuli sairaaksi. – He/she became ill.

If you said:

  • Liikennevalo on vihreä. – The traffic light is green.

that’s a static state (no change).
Vaihtuu vihreä would be ungrammatical here; the verb vaihtua practically requires translative when you specify what it changes into.

What exactly does pysähtyvät mean grammatically?

Pysähtyvät is the 3rd person plural present tense form of the intransitive verb pysähtyä (to stop).

Breakdown:

  • Infinitive: pysähtyä
  • Stem: pysähdy-
  • Present 3rd person plural ending: -vät

So:

  • autot pysähtyvät
    = the cars stop / are stopping

The subject autot (cars) is plural, so the verb must also be plural (pysähtyvät, not pysähtyy).

What’s the difference between pysähtyä and pysäyttää, and why is pysähtyvät used?

Again, it’s an intransitive vs. transitive pair:

  • pysähtyä = to stop (come to a stop by itself) – intransitive

    • Auto pysähtyy. – The car stops.

  • pysäyttää = to stop (something) – transitive

    • Poliisi pysäyttää auton. – The police officer stops the car.

In the sentence, the cars themselves are stopping (we’re not mentioning anyone who stops them), so the intransitive verb is used:

  • autot pysähtyvät – the cars stop

Using pysäyttävät would make it mean:

  • autot pysäyttävät… – the cars stop (something/someone)…

which is not intended here.

What case is suojatien in, and why is that form used?

Suojatien is in the genitive singular.

Base word: suojatie (pedestrian crossing, crosswalk)

  • Genitive singular: suojatien

In Finnish, with the postposition eteen (in front of, to the front of), the preceding noun is normally in the genitive:

  • X:n eteen = in front of X / to in front of X

So:

  • suojatie → suojatien (genitive)
  • suojatien eteen = in front of the pedestrian crossing

This pattern is very common:

  • talon eteen – in front of the house
  • auton eteen – in front of the car
  • oven eteen – in front of the door
What is eteen, and how is it different from edessä?

Both come from the same base ede- / etu- (front), but they show different types of location:

  • eteen

    • case: illative
    • meaning: to the front (of), into a position in front of
    • describes movement / direction

  • edessä

    • case: inessive
    • meaning: in front (of)
    • describes a static location (no movement)

In the sentence:

  • autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen
    = the cars move and come to a position in front of the crosswalk.

If you wanted just a static description, you could say:

  • Autot ovat suojatien edessä.
    = The cars are in front of the crosswalk.

So:
eteen – movement to that place
edessä – being in that place

What does suojatie literally mean?

Suojatie is a compound noun:

  • suoja = protection, shelter
  • tie = road

So literally, “protection-road”, i.e. a protected part of the road for pedestrians: a pedestrian crossing / crosswalk.

Compounds like this are very common in Finnish:

  • liikenne + valo → liikennevalo (traffic + light)
  • linja + auto → linja-auto (line + car) = bus
  • vessa + paperi → vessapaperi (toilet + paper)
Why is it suojatien eteen and not something like suojatietä eteen?

With postpositions like eteen, Finnish uses a specific case pattern:

  • GENITIVE + eteen

So the correct form is:

  • suojatie (nom.) → suojatien (gen.) + eteen
    = suojatien eteen

Using suojatietä (partitive singular) here would be ungrammatical. The partitive has other functions (incomplete actions, amounts, etc.), but not in this fixed structure with eteen.

Compare:

  • talon eteen – in front of the house
  • kaupan eteen – in front of the shop
  • auton eteen – in front of the car
Why is there a comma before ja in “…vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät…”? English often omits a comma before “and”.

In Finnish, when you join two full independent clauses (each with its own subject and verb) with ja (and), it is very common and usually recommended to put a comma before ja:

  • Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.
    • Clause 1: Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi.
    • Clause 2: Autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.

Both are full sentences, so a comma before ja is expected.

If you join only parts of a sentence (like two verbs with the same subject), there is no comma:

  • Auto kiihtyy ja hidastaa. – The car accelerates and slows down.

So:
comma + ja between two separate sentences (clauses) → normal in Finnish
no comma when just listing verbs, adjectives, objects, etc.

Can I change the word order, for example: Autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen, ja liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi.?

Yes, that word order is grammatically fine:

  • Autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen, ja liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi.

Both versions are correct:

  1. Liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi, ja autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen.
  2. Autot pysähtyvät suojatien eteen, ja liikennevalo vaihtuu vihreäksi.

Finnish word order is relatively flexible. Changing the order mainly affects:

  • what you present first / highlight in the narrative
  • the logical or temporal emphasis

In the original, the focus is:
first the light changes → then the cars react.

In the alternative, you start with the cars’ action. Context will usually make the temporal order clear, so both can be used depending on what you want to emphasize.