Minä avaan oven varovasti.

I open the door carefully.

Breakdown of Minä avaan oven varovasti.

• minä: I
• avata: to open
• ovi: the door
• varovasti: carefully

Questions & Answers about Minä avaan oven varovasti.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” in Minä avaan oven varovasti?

Finnish does not have articles like a/an or the at all.
The noun ovi (door) can mean a door or the door, depending on context.

• Minä avaan oven varovasti can be understood as I open the door carefully or I’m opening a door carefully, depending on the situation.
• Definiteness is usually clear from context, not from a separate word.

Do I have to say Minä, or can I just say Avaan oven varovasti?

You can absolutely drop Minä:

• Minä avaan oven varovasti
• Avaan oven varovasti

Both are correct and mean the same thing.
In Finnish, the verb ending (-n in avaan) already tells you it’s I. The pronoun minä is usually used:

• for emphasis (Minä avaan oven, en sinä – I will open the door, not you),
• or in very clear, simple learner-style sentences.

In everyday native speech and writing, the shorter Avaan oven varovasti is more typical if there’s no special emphasis.

What is the difference between avata and avaan?

Avata is the basic dictionary form (the infinitive) meaning to open.
Avaan is that verb conjugated in the present tense, 1st person singular: I open / I am opening / I will open.

A small conjugation table:

• minä avaan – I open
• sinä avaat – you (sg) open
• hän avaa – he/she opens
• me avaamme – we open
• te avaatte – you (pl) open
• he avaavat – they open

So whenever you see a verb ending in -n like this, it’s usually I doing the action.

Why is it oven and not ovi for “door” here?

Ovi is the basic (dictionary) form of the noun.
In this sentence, ovi is a direct object (the thing being opened), and in Finnish, direct objects often change case.

• Basic form: ovi
• Object form here: oven

Oven is the genitive / total object form, used when the action is seen as affecting the whole thing in a complete way (you open the whole door, and the event is complete). So:

• Minä avaan oven varovasti = I open the door carefully (the door gets opened fully).

When would I use ovea instead of oven?

Ovea is the partitive form of ovi. With this verb, you mainly see ovea in two situations:

1. Ongoing / incomplete action, or “some of” something

   • Minä avaan ovea varovasti.
     = I am (in the process of) opening the door carefully.
     The idea is that the action is ongoing or not completed; maybe the door isn’t fully open yet.

2. Negation (this is very common)
   With a negative verb, objects are usually partitive:

   • Minä en avaa ovea varovasti.
     = I don’t open the door carefully.

So:

• oven – whole door, completed positive action
• ovea – ongoing/partial, or in negative sentences

How is varovasti formed, and what does -sti mean?

Varovainen is an adjective meaning careful.
Varovasti is an adverb meaning carefully.

The ending -sti is a common way to turn an adjective into an adverb, roughly like English -ly:

• nopea (fast) → nopeasti (quickly)
• hidas (slow) → hitaasti (slowly)
• varovainen (careful) → varovasti (carefully)

So Minä avaan oven varovasti literally is I open the door in a careful way.

Does avaan mean I open, I am opening, or I will open?

It can mean all of them. Finnish does not grammatically distinguish:

• simple present (I open),
• present continuous (I am opening),
• or a simple future with context (I will open).

Context or extra words clarify:

• Minä avaan oven nyt. = I am opening the door now.
• Minä avaan oven joka aamu. = I open the door every morning.
• Minä avaan oven huomenna. = I will open the door tomorrow.

The verb form avaan itself is just present tense; time and aspect come from context.

Can I change the word order in this sentence?

Yes, Finnish word order is more flexible than English, though not completely free.
Neutral, basic order is:

• Minä avaan oven varovasti. (Subject–Verb–Object–Adverb)

Some other possibilities:

• Avaan oven varovasti. – neutral, subject omitted
• Minä avaan varovasti oven. – still fine, slightly different rhythm
• Varovasti avaan oven. – puts more emphasis on varovasti (carefully)

Changing word order usually affects what is emphasized or what is already known in the conversation, but all of these can be correct sentences.

How do I say this sentence in the negative?

Finnish uses a separate negative verb ei, which is conjugated, and the main verb loses its personal ending.

For Minä avaan oven varovasti, the negative forms are:

• Minä en avaa ovea varovasti.
  or simply
  En avaa ovea varovasti.

Points to notice:

• en is the 1st person singular of ei.
• avaan → avaa (the connegative form, without -n).
• oven → ovea (object becomes partitive in negative sentences).

Other persons:

• sinä et avaa ovea – you don’t open the door
• hän ei avaa ovea – he/she doesn’t open the door, etc.

What would this sentence look like in casual spoken Finnish?

Two very common spoken variants you might hear:

• Mä avaan oven varovasti.
• In some dialects: Mä avaa oven varovasti. (verb loses the final -n)

Changes from standard Finnish:

• minä → mä (I)
• sometimes the final -n in avaan is dropped in everyday speech.

Learners are usually advised to first master the standard form:

• Minä avaan oven varovasti / Avaan oven varovasti

and then get used to recognizing spoken variants like mä avaan or mä avaa when listening to natives.

Is it possible to strongly emphasize I or the door using this sentence?

Yes, Finnish often uses pronouns and word order for emphasis.

To stress I (contrast with someone else):

• Minä avaan oven varovasti.
  (spoken with stress on Minä)

To stress the door (not some other thing):

• Oven avaan varovasti.
  Literally: The door I open carefully.
  This suggests contrast, e.g. maybe you won’t open a window, only the door.

So, by moving oven to the beginning or by clearly pronouncing minä, you can highlight what is most important in the sentence.