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Kun muutan kauemmas, tiedän että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.

Kun muutan kauemmas, tiedän että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.
When I move farther away, I know that I will miss my friends and family.
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Questions & Answers about Kun muutan kauemmas, tiedän että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.

Why is there no word for “I” in kun muutan kauemmas or tiedän or kaipaan?

In Finnish, the personal ending on the verb usually makes a separate subject pronoun unnecessary.

  • muutan = I move (stem muuta-
    • 1st person sg ending -n)
  • tiedän = I know
  • kaipaan = I miss / I will miss

Because the -n ending already tells you the subject is “I”, you normally don’t add minä unless you want to emphasize it:

  • Kun minä muutan kauemmas… = When I (as opposed to someone else) move farther away…
Why are the verbs in the present tense, when the English meaning is about the future (“when I move”, “I will miss”)?

Finnish usually uses the present tense for future events, especially:

  • in time clauses with kun (when), and
  • in many main clauses where English uses “will”.

So:

  • Kun muutan kauemmas literally: When I move farther away
    → naturally understood as When I move (in the future) farther away
  • tiedän että kaipaan literally: I know that I miss
    → in this context: I know that I will miss

You can use a “future-like” form in Finnish, but it’s less common and a bit heavier:

  • Tiedän, että tulen kaipaamaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.
    = I know that I will miss my friends and family.

The simple present (kaipaan) is perfectly natural and often preferred.

What does kun mean here, and how is it different from jos?

kun is a conjunction that can mean:

  • when (time): Kun tulen kotiin… – When I come home…
  • as / because (in some contexts): Hän hymyili, kun oli iloinen. – He smiled, as he was happy.

In this sentence:

  • Kun muutan kauemmas… = When I move farther away… (a time clause)

jos instead means if (condition):

  • Jos muutan kauemmas… = If I move farther away… (not certain)

So kun here expresses a certain future event in time, not a hypothetical condition.

What exactly is kauemmas? Why not just kauas?

kauemmas is the comparative directional form of kauas (“far (away)”).

  • kaukana = far (being far; static)
  • kauas = far (to a far place; direction)
  • kauemmas = farther / further away (to a farther place; direction)

Grammar-wise, kauemmas is often analyzed as the illative of a comparative adverb: to somewhere farther away.

So:

  • muutan kauas = I move far away
  • muutan kauemmas = I move farther away (compared to now / some other place)

You might also see kauemmaksi (comparative + translative), which is similar, but here kauemmas is the most natural everyday choice.

Could you say Kun minä muutan kauemmas instead? Is the minä wrong?

It’s not wrong at all; it just adds emphasis.

  • Kun muutan kauemmas… – neutral: When I move farther away…
  • Kun minä muutan kauemmas… – When I (myself) move farther away… (contrast or emphasis)

Finnish normally omits subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Pronouns like minä are mostly used for:

  • contrast: Minä muutan, mutta sinä jäät. – I’m moving, but you are staying.
  • stress: correcting someone, or strongly highlighting the subject.
Should there be a comma before että in tiedän että kaipaan?

According to standard Finnish punctuation rules, there is usually a comma before että when it introduces a subordinate clause:

  • Tiedän, että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.

So the fully standard version would be:

  • Kun muutan kauemmas, tiedän, että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.

In everyday writing (especially informal contexts like messages or online), many Finns often drop that comma, as in your sentence. It’s still easily understood, but in formal writing you should include the comma.

What does että do in tiedän että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni?

että is a conjunction that introduces a content clause – what it is that you know, think, say, hope, etc.

  • tiedän, että kaipaan…
    = I know that I will miss…

Other common verbs that take että-clauses:

  • luulen, että… – I think that…
  • toivon, että… – I hope that…
  • sanoin, että… – I said that…

So the structure is:

  • tiedän – I know (main clause)
  • että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni – that I will miss my friends and my family (subordinate clause, object of “know”)
Why are ystäviäni and perhettäni in the partitive case?

Because of the verb kaivata / kaivata jotakuta (“to miss, to long for”), which normally takes its object in the partitive.

  • kaipaan ystäviäni
  • kaipaan perhettäni

Reasons:

  1. Many emotion / mental state verbs in Finnish prefer or require a partitive object (e.g. pelätä jotakuta, rakastaa jotakuta, odottaa jotakuta/jotakin).
  2. Partitive often expresses something not fully delimited or ongoing, which fits the idea of missing people in a general, continuing way.

Using nominative/genitive objects (kaipaan ystäväni) sounds unusual or marked and would often be avoided in everyday language.

What do the forms ystäviäni and perhettäni consist of? How are they built?

Both words show case, number, and a possessive suffix.

  1. ystäviäni = my friends (as a partitive object)

    • ystävä = friend (basic form)
    • plural stem: ystävi-
    • partitive plural ending: -ä → ystäviä
    • possessive suffix “my”: -ni → ystäviäni

    So: ystävä + i + ä + ni = friends (partitive) + my → my friends (as object)

  2. perhettäni = my family (as a partitive object)

    • perhe = family
    • partitive singular: perhettä (type: -e → -että in partitive)
    • possessive suffix “my”: -ni → perhettäni

    So: perhe + ttä + ni = family (partitive) + my → my family (as object)

Why is it perhettäni (singular) if it refers to all my family members?

In Finnish, perhe is a collective noun meaning “family” as a group. It’s grammatically singular, even though it refers to many people.

  • perhe = family (as one unit)
  • perhettä = partitive singular “family” (object form)
  • perhettäni = my family (as object)

If you said perheitäni (plural), it would mean my families — implying more than one separate family, which is not what you want here.

So perhettäni is singular, but semantically it’s your whole family as a group.

What does the ending -ni mean on ystäviäni and perhettäni? Do I still need minun?

The suffix -ni is the 1st person singular possessive suffix, meaning “my”.

  • ystäväni (nom.) = my friend / my friends (context decides number)
  • perheeni (nom.) = my family
  • ystäviäni (part.) = my friends (object)
  • perhettäni (part.) = my family (object)

You can also add the separate possessive pronoun:

  • minun ystäviäni
  • minun perhettäni

However, when you have minun, native speakers often drop -ni, or at least one of the two (“double marking” is possible but feels heavy or emphatic):

  • Most natural: minun ystäviäni, minun perhettäni
  • Very emphatic / redundant: minun ystäviäni-ni, minun perhettäni-ni

In your sentence, the -ni suffix alone is enough; you don’t need minun.

Could I say kaipaan ystäväni ja perheeni instead of ystäviäni ja perhettäni?

Grammatically, kaipaan ystäväni ja perheeni is possible, but:

  1. Case and meaning

    • ystäväni and perheeni here would usually be understood as nominative (or accusative) objects, more like my (specific, known set of) friend(s) and my family in their entirety.
    • With kaivata/kaivata jotakuta, the partitive (ystäviäni, perhettäni) is the normal and natural choice.

  2. Naturalness

    • kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni sounds like ordinary, idiomatic Finnish.
    • kaipaan ystäväni ja perheeni sounds a bit stiff, unusual, or slightly off unless you have some very specific, limited set in mind and a context that supports that.

So for everyday speech and writing, you should keep the partitive: kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.

Can I change the clause order, like in English: “I know that I will miss my friends and family when I move farther away”?

Yes. Both orders are fine in Finnish, with only a slight shift in emphasis:

  1. Kun muutan kauemmas, tiedän, että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni.
    – Emphasis first on the time situation (“when I move farther away”), then on what you know.

  2. Tiedän, että kaipaan ystäviäni ja perhettäni, kun muutan kauemmas.
    – Emphasis first on what you know, then you add when this will be true.

Both are grammatically correct and natural. Word order in Finnish is fairly flexible, but moving clauses around can shift what feels foregrounded or highlighted in the sentence.