Learn Hardcore Finnish: Suunnittelen joululomaa jo tammikuussa ja mietin, kuka hakee joulukuusen. - I plan the Christmas holiday already in January and think about who will fetch the Christmas tree.

Suunnitella almost always takes its object in the partitive when you’re talking about planning something in general or being in the process of planning it:

Suunnittelen joululomaa. = I’m (in the process of) planning a Christmas holiday.
Suunnittelen matkaa. = I’m planning a trip.

The partitive here suggests:

the activity is ongoing / incomplete, and
the thing planned is seen as something not yet fixed or fully defined.

So joululomaa fits the typical pattern “suunnitella + partitive” for “plan (something)”.

Could you also say Suunnittelen joululoman? What would be the difference?

Yes, Suunnittelen joululoman is grammatically possible, but the nuance changes.

Suunnittelen joululomaa.
- Planning is seen as ongoing, the holiday isn’t fully fixed.
- Very neutral and the most natural in most contexts.
Suunnittelen joululoman. (total object)
- Focuses more on planning the whole thing as a completed project.
- Can sound like “I will (fully) plan the Christmas holiday (for us)” – slightly more goal-oriented and definite.

In everyday speech, joululomaa is much more common in this kind of sentence.

What exactly does jo add in jo tammikuussa?

Jo means already here, and it adds a nuance of earliness or surprise:

tammikuussa = in January
jo tammikuussa = already in January (earlier than one might expect)

So the sentence suggests that planning the Christmas holiday starts unusually early or at least earlier than many people would. Without jo, it would just state the time neutrally.

Why is it tammikuussa and not just tammikuu? What is the ending -ssa?

Tammikuussa is the inessive case: -ssa / -ssä, which often corresponds to English “in”:

tammikuu = January (basic form)
tammikuussa = in January

The inessive case is used for:

months: tammikuussa, kesäkuussa
many time expressions: yöllä, päivällä, keväällä
locations: talossa (in the house), kaupungissa (in the city)

So tammikuussa literally feels like “inside January” → in January.

How is future time shown here? There’s no “will”, but the actions are in the future.

Finnish has no separate future tense. The present tense is used for:

present time
future time, when context makes that clear

In this sentence:

Suunnittelen joululomaa jo tammikuussa
→ I (will) plan / I plan my Christmas holiday already in January.
mietin, kuka hakee joulukuusen
→ I (am) wondering / I wonder who (will) pick up the Christmas tree.

The time is understood from:

the time expression jo tammikuussa, and
the real‑world context (Christmas is after January).

You don’t add a word like English “will”; you just use the present tense.

Why is there no comma before ja, but there is a comma before kuka?

Finnish comma rules differ from English:

No comma before “ja” here
In Finnish, when two main clauses share the same (implicit) subject and are joined by ja (and), you usually do not put a comma before ja:
- Suunnittelen… ja mietin…
  → Both verbs have the same subject (minä = I), shown in their endings.
Comma before “kuka hakee joulukuusen”
- mietin, kuka hakee joulukuusen
  Here, kuka hakee joulukuusen is a subordinate clause (an indirect question, “who will get the tree”), and Finnish normally separates the main clause and a subordinate clause with a comma.

So:

No comma before ja: same subject, coordinated verbs.
Comma before kuka: starts a subordinate clause.

What’s the difference between miettiä and ajatella in this kind of sentence? Why mietin?

Both relate to “thinking”, but they’re used differently:

miettiä
- means to ponder, consider, reflect on something
- often suggests you’re trying to solve or decide something
- mietin, kuka hakee joulukuusen → I’m wondering/figuring out who will get the tree.
ajatella
- more like to think (about), to have in mind
- can be less “problem‑solving”, more just having thoughts or opinions
- ajattelen sinua = I’m thinking of you.
- ajattelen joululomaa = I’m thinking about the Christmas holiday (not necessarily planning).

In this sentence, mietin is used because the speaker is actively considering a question: who will pick up the tree.

Why is it kuka hakee and not some other form like ketä or kenet?

Kuka is the nominative (basic) form of “who” and is used when “who” is the subject of the verb:

Kuka hakee joulukuusen? = Who will pick up the Christmas tree? (who = subject)
mietin, kuka hakee joulukuusen = I wonder who will pick up the Christmas tree.

Other forms are used when “who” is an object or in other cases:

Kenet sinä näit? = Whom (who) did you see? (object)
Ketä sinä ajattelet? = Whom are you thinking about? (object, partitive form)

In kuka hakee joulukuusen, the unknown person is the one doing the action, so nominative kuka is correct.

Why is it joulukuusen and not joulukuusi or joulukuusta?

Joulukuusen is in the genitive / accusative form (ending -n) and functions as a total object:

Verb: hakea (to fetch / go and get)
Object: joulukuusi (Christmas tree)
- total object → joulukuusen

A total object is used when:

the action is bounded / complete, and
you affect or get the whole thing (here: one specific Christmas tree).

Contrast:

Hän hakee joulukuusen.
→ He/she will go and get the (whole) Christmas tree (mission completed).
Hän hakee joulukuusta. (partitive object)
→ Would sound like he/she is looking for a Christmas tree, or the action is ongoing or uncompleted.

Joulukuusi (nominative) would be for the subject or dictionary form, not as this kind of object. Here, joulukuusen (total object) is the natural choice.

What exactly does hakea mean here? Is it just “to get”, or does it include going somewhere?

Hakea typically means to go (somewhere) to get/fetch something and bring it back. In this context:

kuka hakee joulukuusen
→ who will go and pick up the Christmas tree (from the store, forest, etc.) and bring it home.

Nuances compared to other verbs:

hakea = go and get, fetch, pick up (from somewhere)
noutaa = fetch, collect (a bit more formal/official)
tuoda = bring (to here)
ottaa = take

So hakea implicitly includes the idea of leaving the current place, getting the thing, and returning with it.

Would kuka tulee hakemaan joulukuusen be more natural? How does that differ from kuka hakee joulukuusen?

Both are correct; the nuance is slightly different:

kuka hakee joulukuusen
- plain present (with future meaning)
- neutral, simple “who will go (and) get the tree”.
kuka tulee hakemaan joulukuusen
- tulla + MA-infinitive construction
- often highlights the coming / movement more (“who will come to get the tree”)
- can sound a bit more specific or arranged, like a scheduled coming.

In many everyday situations, kuka hakee joulukuusen is perfectly natural and maybe a bit more straightforward.

Can the word order change, for example: Jo tammikuussa suunnittelen joululomaa? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, Finnish allows some flexibility in word order to change emphasis, not the basic meaning.

Original:

Suunnittelen joululomaa jo tammikuussa
- Neutral emphasis on the whole action, with jo tammikuussa as extra information at the end.

Variant:

Jo tammikuussa suunnittelen joululomaa
- Emphasizes how early it happens: Already in January I’m planning my Christmas holiday.
- The “earliness” is more in focus.

Another possible shift:

Suunnittelen jo tammikuussa joululomaa
- Slightly stronger stress on jo tammikuussa modifying suunnittelen, but still very natural.

All are correct; the differences are about what part of the sentence you highlight. The basic situation described stays the same.