Learn Hardcore Finnish: Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti. - The hairdresser files the nails slowly.

In Finnish, the subject is typically in the nominative case (the basic dictionary form) and often comes first in a normal, neutral sentence. Here:

kampaaja = nominative singular, hairdresser
viilaa = verb
kynnet = object (accusative/nominative plural)
hitaasti = adverb (slowly)

Even though kynnet is plural, it is not the subject, because the verb viilaa is in the 3rd person singular, agreeing with kampaaja, not with kynnet. So structurally the sentence is:

Subject – Verb – Object – Adverb
Kampaaja – viilaa – kynnet – hitaasti

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Finnish has no articles like English a/an or the. Context has to tell you whether you mean:

a hairdresser files nails slowly, or
the hairdresser files the nails slowly

The Finnish sentence Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti is compatible with both of these English translations. If you really need to specify definiteness, you usually:

rely on context, or
add something like tämä (this), se (that/it), or a possessive structure.

For example:

Tämä kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti. – This hairdresser files the nails slowly.

Why is it kampaaja and not kampaajan or kampaajaa?

Kampaaja is the nominative singular form, used here as the subject.

kampaaja = nominative (subject form): hairdresser
kampaajan = genitive: of the hairdresser / the hairdresser’s
kampaajaa = partitive: used in some special subject positions or as an object, or in expressions like näen kampaajaa ("I see the hairdresser (ongoing/partially)")

In a straightforward sentence where someone does something, the doer (subject) is in the nominative:

Kampaaja viilaa... – The hairdresser files...
Opettaja opettaa... – The teacher teaches...

What exactly is viilaa, and how is it conjugated?

Viilaa is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb viilata (to file).

The dictionary form is:

viilata – to file

Present tense conjugation (indicative) is:

minä viilaan – I file / am filing
sinä viilaat – you file
hän viilaa – he/she files
me viilaamme – we file
te viilaatte – you (pl) file
he viilaavat – they file

So in Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti, viilaa matches kampaaja (3rd person singular).

How do I know that viilaa is present tense and not past or future?

The form viilaa is the simple present tense. Finnish marks past tense very clearly with a different form:

viilaa – present: files / is filing / will file (context)
viilasi – past: filed / was filing

Finnish doesn’t have a separate future tense; instead, the present often covers future meanings as well, depending on context:

Huomenna kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Tomorrow the hairdresser will file the nails slowly.

So the absence of the past tense marker (-i- in viilasi) tells you this is not past; whether it is present or near future comes from context.

Is kynnet the subject because it is plural?

No. Kynnet is the object, not the subject.

Clues:

Position and pattern: The sentence follows the typical S–V–O pattern:
- Kampaaja (subject) – viilaa (verb) – kynnet (object) – hitaasti (adverb)
Verb agreement:
- viilaa is 3rd person singular (agreeing with kampaaja).
- If kynnet were the subject, the verb would normally be 3rd person plural (viilaavat) in a normal subject–verb–object sentence:
  - Kynnet viilaavat... – The nails file... (which is semantically odd).

So, kampaaja is the doer (subject), kynnet are what is being filed (object).

What is the basic dictionary form of kynnet, and how is its plural formed?

The basic dictionary form is kynsi (nail – usually fingernail or toenail).

Nominative plural is kynnet. The pattern is a bit irregular but common for -si words:

kynsi – a nail
kynnet – nails (nominative plural)
kynnen – of the nail (genitive singular)
kynsien – of the nails (genitive plural)
kynsiä – nails (partitive plural)

So kynnet is the nominative plural form, which in this sentence functions as the total object form (accusative) as well.

Why is the object kynnet in this form and not kynsiä?

This is about the object case in Finnish.

kynnet = total object (accusative, form identical to nominative plural)
kynsiä = partitive plural (often partial or ongoing action)

With many verbs, the choice is:

total object (here kynnet): the action is seen as complete / affecting the whole set
partitive object (kynsiä): the action is ongoing, incomplete, or only affects part of something

Here:

Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Focus: she/he files all the nails, and the action is seen as a bounded, complete task.

If you say:

Kampaaja viilaa kynsiä hitaasti.
This suggests she/he is (somewhat) filing nails, with a more ongoing / incomplete / indefinite feel – maybe not all of them, or we don’t care about completion.

So kynnet = complete set; kynsiä = partial/ongoing.

Why does the verb not agree in number with kynnet, which is plural?

Because the verb agrees with the subject, not with the object.

Subject: kampaaja (singular) → verb: viilaa (3rd person singular)
Object: kynnet (plural) → no effect on verb agreement

In Finnish (as in English), verb agreement is with the subject:

Kampaaja viilaa kynnet. – The hairdresser files the nails.
Kampaajat viilaavat kynnet. – The hairdressers file the nails.

Here, when the subject becomes plural (kampaajat), the verb changes to plural (viilaavat), but the verb does not change just because the object is plural.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Kampaaja hitaasti viilaa kynnet or Kampaaja viilaa hitaasti kynnet?

Yes. Finnish word order is relatively flexible, but the neutral order here is:

Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Subject – Verb – Object – Adverb.

Some possible variations and their feel:

Kampaaja viilaa hitaasti kynnet.
Still understandable. Often felt a bit more marked; hitaasti may be slightly more emphasized.
Kampaaja hitaasti viilaa kynnet.
Emphasizes hitaasti (slowly) more strongly: the slowness is highlighted.
Kynnet kampaaja viilaa hitaasti.
Now kynnet is fronted and emphasized: It’s the nails that the hairdresser is filing slowly.
(Still, kampaaja is the subject, kynnet the object; case endings, not word order, show roles.)

So yes, you can move hitaasti and even kynnet, but you change the focus/emphasis, not the basic roles.

How is the adverb hitaasti formed from the adjective hidas?

Hitaasti is an adverb derived from the adjective hidas (slow).

The typical pattern for forming adverbs is:

adjective stem + -sti

For hidas, the stem used is hitaa- (you see this, for example, in the weak grade: hitaan = of the slow (one)):

hidas → stem hitaa-
- -sti → hitaasti – slowly

Other examples:

nopea (fast) → nopeasti (quickly)
selvä (clear) → selvästi (clearly)

So hitaasti is simply the adverbial form of hidas.

Can hitaasti be placed in other positions in the sentence?

Yes. Adverbs like hitaasti are quite mobile. Common positions:

At the end (neutral, very common):
- Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Between verb and object:
- Kampaaja viilaa hitaasti kynnet.
  Slight extra focus on hitaasti.
Right after the subject:
- Kampaaja hitaasti viilaa kynnet.
  Stronger emphasis on the manner of the action (slowly).
At the very beginning:
- Hitaasti kampaaja viilaa kynnet.
  Very emphatic/stylistic, maybe in storytelling or poetry.

The basic meaning stays the same, but which part is highlighted changes.

How would I say the same sentence in the past tense: The hairdresser filed the nails slowly?

You just change the verb to past tense (viilasi):

Kampaaja viilasi kynnet hitaasti.
The hairdresser filed the nails slowly.

Breakdown:

kampaaja – hairdresser (nominative)
viilasi – filed (3rd person singular past of viilata)
kynnet – the nails (total object, plural)
hitaasti – slowly (adverb)

How would I say that the hairdresser is filing nails (in general / incompletely), instead of all the nails?

Use the partitive plural kynsiä instead of kynnet:

Kampaaja viilaa kynsiä hitaasti.

Nuance:

Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Focus on all the nails being filed as a complete set.
Kampaaja viilaa kynsiä hitaasti.
Focus on the activity of filing nails; it sounds more like an ongoing, not necessarily completed or not fully delimited action: The hairdresser is (busy) filing nails slowly.

How would I say The hairdresser is slowly filing her own nails?

You can mark possession on the object with a possessive suffix:

Kampaaja viilaa kynsiään hitaasti.

Explanation:

kynsiään = kynsiä (partitive plural) + -än (3rd person possessive suffix)
→ her/his own nails, in a partitive, ongoing sense.

If you want a more complete/totally affected sense:

Kampaaja viilaa kyntensä hitaasti.
- kynnet → kynte-
  - -nsä (3rd person possessive) → kynsiNSä → kyntensä (sound changes)
- Means the hairdresser files *his/her own nails slowly*, with a feeling that all of them are being filed as a complete set.

Does kampaaja tell me anything about gender, like he or she?

No. Kampaaja is gender-neutral.

Finnish generally does not mark gender:

kampaaja could be a man or a woman (or any gender).
The pronoun hän also means both he and she.

So:

Kampaaja viilaa kynnet hitaasti.
Could be translated as He files the nails slowly or She files the nails slowly, depending on context.

Could kynnet ever be the subject with a different verb form?

Yes. If kynnet were the subject, the verb would normally be 3rd person plural, and kampaaja could then appear in some other role (for example, a genitive attribute):

Kynnet kasvavat hitaasti.
The nails grow slowly. (Here kynnet is clearly the subject.)
Kampaajan kynnet kasvavat hitaasti.
The hairdresser’s nails grow slowly.
- kampaajan = genitive of kampaaja (of the hairdresser), so kampaaja is no longer the subject.
- kynnet is nominative plural subject.
- kasvavat is 3rd person plural to agree with kynnet.

So kynnet can be subject, but then the verb form and often the role of kampaaja change accordingly.

Why isn’t there any special ending on kynnet to show it’s an object?

There actually is, but it happens to look like the nominative plural.

For plural total objects, the accusative form is identical in form to the nominative plural. So:

Nominative plural: kynnet – nails (as subject or elsewhere)
Accusative plural (total object): kynnet – the nails (as complete object)

You know it’s an object here because of its role in the sentence and the verb type, not because of a separate visible ending.

For singular objects, you often see a clearer difference:

luen kirjaa – I read a book / some of the book (partitive)
luen kirjan – I read the whole book (accusative/genitive)

In the plural, that accusative = nominative syncretism is normal: you get kirjat (both nominative and total-object plural), kynnet, talot, etc.