Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

The bus being late annoys me.

Breakdown of Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

• bussi: the bus
• minua: me
• myöhästyminen: the being late
• harmittaa: to annoy

Questions & Answers about Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

What does each word in Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua literally mean?

Word by word:

• bussin = of the bus (genitive singular of bussi, “bus”)
• myöhästyminen = being late / delay (a noun made from the verb myöhästyä, “to be late”)
• harmittaa = annoys / bothers / makes (someone) feel bad (3rd person singular present)
• minua = me in the partitive case (from minä, “I”)

A fairly literal overall rendering would be:

The bus’s being late annoys me.
or
The bus’s delay annoys me.

Why is it bussin (genitive) instead of bussi?

Because myöhästyminen is a noun derived from a verb, and its “subject” is put in the genitive.

Pattern:

• Verb: bussi myöhästyy = the bus is late / the bus is delayed
• Noun from the verb: bussin myöhästyminen = the bus’s being late / the bus’s delay

In Finnish, when you turn a verb into a -minen noun:

• the thing that would be the subject of the sentence normally
• often appears in genitive in front of that noun.

Examples:

• lapsi itkee → lapsen itkeminen = the child cries → the child’s crying
• koira haukkuu → koiran haukkuminen = the dog barks → the dog’s barking

So bussin myöhästyminen is the natural nominal phrase for the bus being late.

What exactly is myöhästyminen? Is it a verb or a noun?

Myöhästyminen is a noun, even though it comes from the verb myöhästyä (“to be late”).

• Stem verb: myöhästy-
• Nominalizing suffix: -minen
• Result: myöhästyminen = “being late, lateness, delay”

Important points:

• It behaves grammatically like a regular noun:
  • You can put it in different cases:
    
    • bussin myöhästyminen (nominative: the delay)
    • bussin myöhästymistä (partitive: some delay / delay as a process)
    • bussin myöhästymisestä (elative: from / because of the delay)
• It can have its own “subject” in genitive, as in bussin myöhästyminen.

You can think of -minen nouns as being similar to English -ing forms used as nouns, like being late, reading, crying.

Why is minua used instead of minä or minut?

Minua is the partitive form of minä (“I”), and with harmittaa this is the normal pattern:

X harmittaa Y:tä = X annoys / bothers Y

So:

• Bussin myöhästyminen = X (the thing causing the feeling)
• minua = Y in the partitive: the person who experiences the feeling

Why partitive?

1. Many verbs of feelings or internal states take the experiencer in the partitive:

   • Minua väsyttää. = I’m tired / I feel tired.
   • Minua pelottaa. = I’m scared.
   • Minua ärsyttää. = I’m annoyed / irritated.

2. Partitive here marks someone as the experiencer / target of a state, rather than a clear-cut “finished” object of an action.

You cannot say:

• ✗ Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minä. (wrong case)
• ✗ Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minut. (sounds like a concrete object, not a mental state)

It must be:

• Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

Which word is the subject of the sentence, and which is the “object” / experiencer?

Grammatically:

• Subject: Bussin myöhästyminen

  • It is in the nominative case, and it is the cause of the feeling.
  • The verb harmittaa is in 3rd person singular to agree with it.

• Experiencer / “object-like” element: minua

  • It is in the partitive case and marks the person who feels annoyed.

So the internal structure is basically:

• [The bus’s being late] annoys [me].

In English, we usually say I am annoyed by the bus being late, with I as the subject.
In Finnish, with verbs like harmittaa, it’s more natural to make the cause the subject and put the person in the partitive.

Can I change the word order to Minua harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is completely correct:

• Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.
• Minua harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.

Both mean essentially the same thing: The bus being late annoys me.

Difference:

• Putting bussin myöhästyminen first slightly emphasizes what is annoying.
• Putting minua first slightly emphasizes who is annoyed.

This is typical Finnish: word order changes the focus, not the basic roles. The cases (bussin myöhästyminen in nominative, minua in partitive) tell you who is doing what to whom, regardless of order.

Could I say Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa without minua? What would that mean?

Yes, you can say:

• Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa.

This means roughly:

• The bus being late is annoying.
• It’s annoying that the bus is late.

Here, the experiencer is not specified. It sounds like you are making a general statement: this is something that (in general) is annoying, probably including you and maybe others.

If the context is clearly about your feelings, it will often be understood as “I’m annoyed by the bus being late”, but grammatically it is more general.

How would I say I’m annoyed that the bus was late using an että clause instead of myöhästyminen?

You can use an että (“that”) clause:

• Minua harmittaa, että bussi myöhästyi.

Breakdown:

• Minua harmittaa = I’m annoyed / Something annoys me.
• että bussi myöhästyi = that the bus was late.

Notes:

• myöhästyi is past tense, so this clearly refers to a past event.
• The että clause is a full sentence embedded inside another; it has its own subject bussi and verb myöhästyi.

Compare:

• Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

  • More compact, uses a noun (delay).
  • The timing (past, present) is not explicit, it’s just “the bus’s delay”.

• Minua harmittaa, että bussi myöhästyi.

  • Explicitly says that the bus was late (past), with a finite verb.
  • Often feels a bit more conversational / direct when talking about a specific event.

Is harmittaa similar to English to harm? Does it always mean something very strong?

Despite looking like harm, harmittaa usually means something milder:

• to annoy
• to bother
• to make someone feel bad / disappointed / sorry

Examples:

• Minua harmittaa, että unohdin avaimet.
  = I’m annoyed / I feel bad that I forgot the keys.

• Häntä harmittaa hävitä peli.
  = He/She is annoyed / disappointed to lose the game.

It does not usually mean serious physical harm or damage. For that you would use other verbs, like:

• satuttaa = to hurt (physically or emotionally)
• vahingoittaa = to damage, to injure

For a stronger “annoy / irritate”, Finns often use ärsyttää:

• Minua ärsyttää bussin myöhästyminen.
  = I’m irritated by the bus being late.

Are there other verbs that work like harmittaa, with minua in the partitive?

Yes, there is a whole group of verbs where:

X (cause, in nominative) + verb (3rd sg) + Y:tä (experiencer in partitive)

Some common ones:

• väsyttää = to make (someone) tired

  • Minua väsyttää. = I’m tired.
  • Pitkä päivä väsyttää minua. = A long day makes me tired.

• pelottaa = to scare / frighten

  • Minua pelottaa. = I’m scared.
  • Pimeä metsä pelottaa minua. = A dark forest scares me.

• ärsyttää = to irritate, annoy

  • Minua ärsyttää tämä melu. = This noise irritates me.

• huolestuttaa = to worry, to make (someone) worry

  • Häntä huolestuttaa tilanne. = The situation worries him/her.

• naurattaa = to make (someone) want to laugh

  • Minua naurattaa. = I feel like laughing.

• itkettää = to make (someone) feel like crying

  • Minua itkettää. = I feel like crying.

Harmittaa fits this same pattern:

• Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.
  = The bus being late annoys me.

How would the sentence change with different people (you, him/her, us, them)?

You keep bussin myöhästyminen and harmittaa the same, and just change the partitive pronoun:

• Minua harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = I’m annoyed by the bus being late.

• Sinua harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = You are annoyed by the bus being late.

• Häntä harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = He/She is annoyed by the bus being late.

• Meitä harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = We are annoyed by the bus being late.

• Teitä harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = You (plural / polite) are annoyed by the bus being late.

• Heitä harmittaa bussin myöhästyminen.
  = They are annoyed by the bus being late.

The verb harmittaa stays in 3rd person singular because the grammatical subject bussin myöhästyminen is singular.

If the cause were plural, the verb would agree:

• Bussien myöhästymiset harmittavat minua.
  = The buses’ delays annoy me.
  (Plural harmittavat agrees with plural myöhästymiset.)

Could I express the same idea with olla + adjective, like I am annoyed about the bus being late?

Yes. A very natural alternative is:

• Olen harmissani bussin myöhästymisestä.

Breakdown:

• Olen = I am.
• harmissani = “in my harm / annoyance / upset” (a fixed form; you usually say olla harmissaan “to be upset / annoyed / sorry”)
• bussin myöhästymisestä = from / about the bus’s being late (elative case -sta)

Meaning:

• I am upset / annoyed about the bus being late.

So we have two common ways to express this idea:

1. Bussin myöhästyminen harmittaa minua.

   • Focus on the cause doing something to you (it annoys you).

2. Olen harmissani bussin myöhästymisestä.

   • Focus on your state (you are in a state of annoyance/upset), and use -sta to mark what you are upset about.

Both are natural; the first is slightly more direct and colloquial, the second a bit more descriptive of your emotional state.