Learn Hardcore Finnish: Kaivan lapion avulla kuopan multaan ja pudotan jokaisen siemenen varovasti paikalleen. - I dig a hole in the soil with the help of the shovel and drop each seed carefully into its place.

Because kaivan and pudotan both end in -n, we automatically know the subject is “I”, so minä is not needed unless you want to emphasize it (e.g. Minä kaivan…, I (as opposed to someone else) dig…).

Why is kaivan in the present tense, even though this could describe a planned future action?

Finnish often uses the present tense for:

actions happening now
near-future plans or very soon-to-happen actions
habitual actions

So Kaivan… ja pudotan… can mean:

I dig and (then) I drop… (narration of what’s happening), or
I will dig and (then) I will drop… (a plan in the immediate future), depending on context.

You only need the future periphrasis (like aion kaivaa, “I intend to dig”) when you want to emphasize the intention or plan itself.

What does lapion avulla literally mean, and is it just “with a shovel”?

Literally:

lapion = of the shovel (genitive singular of lapio, “shovel”)
avulla = with the help of / by means of (adessive of apu, “help”)

Together lapion avulla = “with the help of a shovel”, i.e. by using a shovel, with a shovel.

In natural English we just say “with a shovel”, but the Finnish phrase is a bit more explicit: “with the help of a shovel / by means of a shovel”.

Could I say lapiolla instead of lapion avulla? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can also say:

Kaivan kuopan multaan lapiolla. = I dig a hole into the soil with a shovel.

lapiolla is the adessive form of lapio and usually means “with a shovel / using a shovel” as an instrument.

The nuance:

lapion avulla – “with the help of a shovel”, slightly more explicit or “bookish”
lapiolla – shorter, very natural and common for “with a shovel”

Both are correct; the meaning is practically the same in this context.

In kuopan multaan, what cases are kuopan and multaan, and what does the structure mean?

Forms:

kuopan = genitive singular of kuoppa (hole)
multaan = illative singular of multa (soil), “into the soil”

Structure:

kuopan multaan ≈ into the soil of the hole / into the hole’s soil

So the idea is: I dig a hole into the soil (the hole is in the soil), and the phrase treats multa (“soil”) as the medium where the hole is dug, with kuopan describing which soil (the soil where the hole is).

Why is it kuopan and not kuoppa or kuoppaa?

This is about the object case and aspect:

Kaivan kuopan.
- kuopan = genitive singular, total object
- Implies: I dig the whole hole, a completed hole.
Kaivan kuoppaa.
- kuoppaa = partitive singular
- Implies: I’m in the process of digging, the action is ongoing or incomplete.

In your sentence, the idea is a complete, specific hole, so Finnish uses the genitive object: kuopan.

You wouldn’t use bare kuoppa as an object form here; objects are usually in genitive (total) or partitive (partial/ongoing).

Why is it multaan and not multaa?

multaan is the illative case of multa: “into the soil”. It expresses movement into something (destination).
multaa is partitive: “some soil / soil (as a mass)”, often used as an object (e.g. Ostan multaa – I buy some soil).

In kaivan kuopan multaan, the verb kaivaa plus illative expresses where the hole goes:

multaan = into soil, into the ground/earth

If you said kaivan multaa, that would mean “I dig (up) some soil” – then multa would be the object, not the place you dig into.

In pudotan jokaisen siemenen, why do both jokaisen and siemenen end in -n?

The phrase jokainen siemen (“each seed”) behaves as a single noun phrase. When it becomes a total object of the verb, the whole phrase changes case together:

Nominative (subject form): jokainen siemen – each seed
Genitive (total object here): jokaisen siemenen – each seed (as object)

So:

pudotan jokaisen siemenen
- pudotan = I drop
- object phrase jokaisen siemenen in the genitive, because you are dropping all of each seed, in a completed/controlled way.

Both the pronoun (jokainen) and the noun (siemen) agree in case, so they both appear with -n.

Could I say joka siemenen or jokaista siementä instead? What would change?

joka siemenen
- This is not standard in this kind of sentence.
- joka is usually used as:
  - a relative pronoun (“who/which/that”), or
  - in fixed expressions like joka päivä (every day).
- For “each seed” as a noun phrase, you should use jokainen siemen → jokaisen siemenen as an object.
jokaista siementä
- jokaista = partitive of jokainen
- siementä = partitive of siemen
- Double partitive here would suggest an ongoing / not-completed action (I am in the process of dropping each seed), which is very unnatural with pudotan and a concrete action you fully control and finish.

So in normal, natural Finnish for a completed action, pudotan jokaisen siemenen is the correct and idiomatic choice.

What does varovasti do in the sentence, and how is it related to varovainen?

varovainen = careful (adjective)
varovasti = carefully (adverb)

Finnish often forms adverbs from adjectives with -sti:

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

In the sentence, varovasti modifies the verb pudotan:

pudotan … varovasti = I carefully drop…

What exactly does paikalleen mean, and how is it built?

Morphology:

paikka = place
paikalle = onto (the) place (allative: “to/onto a place”)
paikalleen = onto his/her/its (own) place

So paikalleen = “to its proper place / into the place where it belongs”.

The ending -en here is the 3rd person possessive suffix, referring to “its” (the seed’s place, or each seed’s own place). The exact owner isn’t repeated in words; it’s just understood from context.

Why paikalleen and not paikkaan or just paikalle?

Subtle differences:

paikkaan (illative of paikka): “into a place / into the place” – neutral destination.
paikalle (allative): “to/onto a place” – also a neutral destination, slightly more about surface/position.
paikalleen: “to its (own) place” – implies the correct, proper place designated for that thing.

In the sentence, pudotan jokaisen siemenen varovasti paikalleen suggests:

each seed goes into the place where it is supposed to go (e.g. its little spot in the soil, in a row, at the right spacing).

It’s more precise and idiomatic here than just saying paikkaan or paikalle.

How flexible is the word order here? Can I move parts of the sentence around?

Finnish word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbials (like varovasti, lapion avulla).

Examples that are still grammatical and natural:

Kaivan kuopan multaan lapion avulla ja pudotan jokaisen siemenen varovasti paikalleen.
Kaivan lapion avulla kuopan multaan ja pudotan varovasti jokaisen siemenen paikalleen.
Kaivan kuopan multaan ja pudotan jokaisen siemenen paikalleen varovasti. (the last one is possible but sounds a bit marked; varovasti usually goes before paikalleen)

What tends to stay in place:

The verb right after (or near) the subject.
The object usually near the verb, although you can move it for emphasis.
Adverbs like varovasti and phrases like lapion avulla can be moved earlier or later, changing emphasis but not basic meaning.

The original order is very natural and neutral.

If I change the verbs to past tense (kaivoin, pudotin), do the object forms like kuopan and jokaisen siemenen change?

No, the object case does not depend on the tense, but on the type of action (total vs partial, completed vs ongoing/indefinite).

Past-tense version:

Kaivoin lapion avulla kuopan multaan ja pudotin jokaisen siemenen varovasti paikalleen.
- kuopan: still genitive, total object (a whole hole was dug).
- jokaisen siemenen: still genitive, total object (every seed was dropped).

Tense changes kaivan → kaivoin, pudotan → pudotin, but the object stays genitive as long as the action is seen as complete and affecting a whole, countable object.