Breakdown of Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten, luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa.
Questions & Answers about Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten, luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa.
Here kun is a subordinating conjunction meaning when or while:
- Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten = When I was studying for my driving licence
It introduces a time clause (a subordinate clause). In Finnish, it’s very common to put this kun-clause before the main clause:
- Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten, (subordinate clause)
luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa. (main clause)
You can also reverse the order:
- Luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa, kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten.
The meaning stays the same; putting the kun-clause first just emphasizes the background situation (the studying) a bit more.
Finnish has several verbs connected to learning and reading:
- opiskella = to study (systematically, for an exam, for school, etc.)
- oppia = to learn (to acquire knowledge/skill, the result)
- lukea = to read; also to study (especially for an exam)
Here opiskelin ajokorttia varten focuses on the process of studying for the licence. So opiskelin is natural:
- opiskelin ajokorttia varten = I was studying (in general) for the driving licence
- luin kaikki liikennesäännöt = I read all the traffic rules (a specific concrete action)
You could also say Luin ajokorttia varten in spoken language, meaning roughly I studied for my driving licence, but opiskella is clearer and more formal for the ongoing study process.
Ajokorttia is in the partitive case because of the postposition varten.
The base form is:
- nominative: ajokortti (a driving licence)
- genitive: ajokortin
- partitive: ajokorttia
The postposition varten (for, for the purpose of) normally takes the partitive:
- sinua varten = for you
- lapsia varten = for children
- ajokorttia varten = for a / the driving licence
So the structure is:
- [partitive noun] + varten = for [that thing / purpose]
That’s why we have ajokorttia varten, not ajokortin varten.
Literally, ajokorttia varten = for the driving licence.
- ajokortti = driving licence / driver’s license
- ajokoe = driving test / practical test
- teoriakoe = theory test
In real life, opiskella ajokorttia varten usually means studying the theory so you can get your licence, i.e. studying for the theory test that is required. So in natural English you might translate it as:
- When I was studying for my driver’s license test, I read all the traffic rules many times.
But grammatically, the phrase is tied to the licence itself, not directly to the exam word.
In Finnish, you generally put a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause.
- Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten, (subordinate kun-clause)
luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa. (main clause)
Because the kun-clause comes first, you must separate it from the following main clause with a comma. If you flip the order, you still keep the comma:
- Luin kaikki liikennesäännöt monta kertaa, kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten.
So the rule is: subordinate clause + main clause → comma between them.
Luin is the simple past (imperfect) of lukea:
- luen = I read (now, present)
- luin = I read (past, one or more completed events)
- olen lukenut = I have read (present perfect)
Both clauses describe a situation clearly in the past, with no special connection to the present:
- Kun opiskelin …, luin …
When I was studying …, I read …
Using olen lukenut would suggest a present perfect nuance (relevance to now), which doesn’t fit well inside a clearly past-time kun opiskelin setting. So the matching past tense luin is the normal, natural choice.
This is about total object vs partitive object.
- kaikki liikennesäännöt is a total object (here in plural nominative functioning as accusative).
- kaikkia liikennesääntöjä would be a partitive object.
Luin kaikki liikennesäännöt expresses that the action is complete: you read all the rules, the whole set.
If you used partitive:
- Luin kaikkia liikennesääntöjä.
This would sound like you were reading (some/various) traffic rules, but it doesn’t emphasize completion of the whole set. It’s more open‑ended or incomplete.
Because the point here is that you studied all the rules, kaikki liikennesäännöt (total object) is the correct choice.
- liikenne = traffic
- sääntö = rule
- plural nominative: säännöt = rules
- liikennesäännöt = traffic rules
Traffic rules naturally form a set of many rules, not just one, so Finnish uses the plural:
- liikennesääntö (singular) would be one individual traffic rule.
- liikennesäännöt (plural) refers to all the rules as a group.
In this sentence, kaikki liikennesäännöt = all the traffic rules.
Both exist, but they’re used differently.
- monta kertaa = many times
- monta is a quantifier that takes a partitive singular noun:
- monta kertaa (times)
- monta kertaa is the normal, idiomatic way to say many times / several times.
- monta is a quantifier that takes a partitive singular noun:
- monet kerrat = many occasions / many (sets of) times
- plural noun: kerrat
- sounds more formal or literary, and slightly more like many separate occasions.
In everyday language, monta kertaa is by far the most common way to say many times, so that’s why it appears here.
Yes, you can, but the style changes.
Kun opiskelin ajokorttia varten, luin …
This uses a finite verb in a kun-clause; it’s neutral, standard, and very common in both speech and writing.Opiskellessani ajokorttia varten luin …
This uses a -ssa / -essä construction (a Finnish non-finite form, sometimes called an “inessive active participle” or temporal construction) with a possessive suffix -ni (my).
Both mean essentially the same: while I was studying for my licence, I read …
The opiskellessani form is a bit more compact and often feels more formal or written‑language‑like. For a learner, the kun opiskelin version is simpler and very natural.