Luen muistiinpanot läpi ennen koetta ja kerron ääneen, mitä ymmärrän.

I read through the notes before the exam and say aloud what I understand.

Breakdown of Luen muistiinpanot läpi ennen koetta ja kerron ääneen, mitä ymmärrän.

• minä: I
• lukea: to read
• ja: and
• ennen: before

Questions & Answers about Luen muistiinpanot läpi ennen koetta ja kerron ääneen, mitä ymmärrän.

Why is luen in the present tense if the meaning is about the future (“before the exam”)?

In Finnish, the present tense is used both for:

• actions happening now, and
• future actions, when the future time is clear from context.

So:

• Luen muistiinpanot läpi ennen koetta.
  = I will read / I’m going to read the notes through before the exam.

You don’t normally need a separate future tense (there isn’t one in standard Finnish). The time expression ennen koetta (“before the exam”) already makes it clear that this is about the future, so luen (present) is natural and correct.

Why is it muistiinpanot and not a singular like muistiinpano?

Muistiinpano = “a note”
Muistiinpanot = “notes”

In real use, people nearly always talk about notes in the plural, just like in English:

• Luen muistiinpanot läpi. = I read (all) the notes through.

Also, grammatically, muistiinpanot here is:

• nominative plural, functioning as the total object of luen.
  You are reading all the notes, from beginning to end (completed action).

Compare:

• Luen muistiinpanoja.
  – partitive plural, implying I’m reading (some) notes / I’m reading notes (ongoing, not necessarily all of them).

So muistiinpanot matches the idea of thoroughly going through the whole set of notes.