Learn Hardcore Finnish: Myyjä on ystävällinen ja auttaa minua kassalla. - The salesperson is friendly and helps me at the checkout.

In a shop context, myyjä usually means the person serving customers, which often overlaps with “cashier”, but myyjä is broader. A cashier can also be called kassa (informally), but myyjä focuses on the role as someone who sells/serves.

So in this sentence, myyjä is best understood as “the shop assistant / salesperson”.

Why is the verb on used, and what form is it?

On is the 3rd person singular form of the verb olla (to be) in the present tense.

olla = to be
minä olen = I am
sinä olet = you are
hän / se on = he / she / it is

Here, myyjä on literally means “the salesperson is”.

Why is there no hän (“he / she”) before auttaa? Shouldn’t it be “… ja hän auttaa minua kassalla”?

You can say Myyjä on ystävällinen ja hän auttaa minua kassalla, and it is correct.

However, Finnish often drops the subject pronoun when it is clear from context. In this sentence, myyjä is the subject of both verbs:

Myyjä on ystävällinen = The salesperson is friendly
(Myyjä) auttaa minua kassalla = (The salesperson) helps me at the checkout

Because the subject myyjä is already stated and there’s no ambiguity, Finnish does not need to repeat hän. The verb ending in auttaa already tells us it’s 3rd person singular.

So:

With pronoun: Myyjä on ystävällinen ja hän auttaa minua kassalla.
Without pronoun (more natural): Myyjä on ystävällinen ja auttaa minua kassalla.

What is the role of ystävällinen in the sentence? Is it like “a friendly person” or just “friendly”?

Ystävällinen is an adjective meaning friendly.

In Myyjä on ystävällinen, it functions as a predicative adjective, directly describing the subject myyjä:

Myyjä on ystävällinen. = The salesperson is friendly.

Finnish doesn’t need a word like “a” or “person” here. You don’t say anything like “on ystävällinen henkilö” unless you specifically want to say “is a friendly person”, which sounds heavier and more evaluative.

So myyjä on ystävällinen is the normal, simple way to say “the salesperson is friendly.”

Does ystävällinen have to agree with myyjä in number or case?

Yes, Finnish adjectives normally agree with the noun in number and case.

In this sentence:

myyjä = singular, nominative
ystävällinen = singular, nominative

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too:

Ystävälliset myyjät auttavat minua kassalla.
- myyjät = plural, nominative
- ystävälliset = plural, nominative
- “Friendly salespeople help me at the checkout.”

With a case:

Näen ystävällisen myyjän. = I see the friendly salesperson.
- myyjän = singular, genitive/accusative
- ystävällisen = singular, genitive/accusative

So the agreement is there; it’s just that in the original sentence both are in the simple base form (nominative singular).

Why is it minua and not minut or minä?

Minua is the partitive form of minä (I).

The verb auttaa (to help) normally takes its object in the partitive case in Finnish, not in the “basic” form and not in the typical total object (minut).

minä = I (nominative, subject form)
minut = me (accusative/total object form)
minua = me (partitive object form)

Because auttaa governs the partitive:

Hän auttaa minua. = He/She helps me.
Hän auttoi minua. = He/She helped me.

Using minut here would sound wrong to a native speaker.

So:

minä = subject (“I”)
minua = object after auttaa (“me” as the one being helped)

What exactly does kassalla mean, and what is the -lla ending?

Kassa can mean cash register, checkout, or sometimes cashier (informally).
Kassalla is the adessive case of kassa, and usually means “at the checkout / at the till / at the cash register”.

The ending -lla / -llä (adessive) often expresses:

location “on / at / by” something
- pöytä → pöydällä = on the table
- asema → asemalla = at the station
- kassa → kassalla = at the checkout

So kassalla answers the question “Where?” → at the checkout.

Could I say kassassa instead of kassalla? What would be the difference?

Kassassa is the inessive case (in-ness), meaning “in the cash register/checkout”.

kassalla (adessive) = at / by / on the checkout
kassassa (inessive) = in the checkout (inside it)

For a person standing at the checkout counter, you normally say:

Minä olen kassalla. = I am at the checkout.

Kassassa would sound like you are somehow inside the machine or inside the cash drawer, which is normally not what you mean. So in this context, kassalla is the natural form.

Why is it ja auttaa and not something like ja hän auttaa or ja myyjä auttaa repeated?

Finnish often avoids repeating the subject when it’s the same across coordinated verbs. The structure is:

Myyjä on ystävällinen
(Myyjä) auttaa minua kassalla

Connecting them:

Myyjä on ystävällinen ja auttaa minua kassalla.

Repeating hän or myyjä is grammatically fine, but feels heavier or more emphatic:

Myyjä on ystävällinen, ja hän auttaa minua kassalla.
(possible, slightly more formal or contrastive)

Everyday natural Finnish usually keeps it short and omits the repeated subject.

What tense is auttaa here? Could it mean both “helps” and “is helping”?

Auttaa here is in the present tense, 3rd person singular:

hän auttaa = he/she helps / he/she is helping

Finnish does not have a separate continuous/progressive tense like English “is helping”. The simple present usually covers both:

Myyjä auttaa minua kassalla.
- “The salesperson helps me at the checkout.”
- or “The salesperson is helping me at the checkout (right now).”

Context decides whether it’s a general habit or a current action. In your sentence, it can easily be understood as a habitual or typical situation.

Can the whole sentence also mean that the salesperson is helping me right now, not just in general?

Yes.

Myyjä on ystävällinen ja auttaa minua kassalla. can be understood in two main ways, depending on context:

General / habitual meaning
- “The salesperson is friendly and (generally) helps me at the checkout.”
Right now / current situation
- “The salesperson is friendly and is helping me at the checkout (right now).”

Because Finnish doesn’t mark the difference morphologically, speakers rely on the situation and other words in the conversation to interpret it.

Why are there double letters in words like myyjä and kassalla? How does that affect pronunciation and meaning?

In Finnish, long vowels and long consonants are written with double letters, and length changes the meaning.

myyjä = myy + jä
- yy is a long y sound, held longer than a single y
kassalla = kassa + lla
- ss is a long s sound

Examples of length changing meaning:

tuli = fire
tuuli = wind
tulli = customs (tax)
muta = mud
mutta = but

So you need to pronounce the doubled letters distinctly longer; otherwise, you might accidentally say a different word.

Could I change the word order to Ystävällinen myyjä auttaa minua kassalla? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

Ystävällinen myyjä auttaa minua kassalla.

This means “A/The friendly salesperson helps me at the checkout.”

The nuance changes slightly:

Myyjä on ystävällinen ja auttaa minua kassalla.
- Two statements about the same person:
  - The salesperson is friendly.
  - (The same salesperson) helps me at the checkout.
Ystävällinen myyjä auttaa minua kassalla.
- One compact description:
  - A/the friendly salesperson helps me at the checkout.

Both are correct; the original sentence more explicitly states the friendliness as a separate quality via on ystävällinen.

Is there any article like “a” or “the” in myyjä on ystävällinen? How do I know if it’s “a salesperson” or “the salesperson”?

Finnish does not have articles like a/an or the.

myyjä can mean “a salesperson” or “the salesperson”
ystävällinen = friendly, without any article

You have to infer specificity from context:

In a general statement:
- Myyjä on ystävällinen.
- “A salesperson is friendly.” / “Salespeople are friendly.” (generic)
In a specific situation (you both know which one):
- Myyjä on ystävällinen.
- “The salesperson is friendly.”

The English translation chooses a or the based on context, but Finnish uses just myyjä.

How would I make this sentence negative in Finnish?

To negate verbs in Finnish, you use the negative verb ei plus a form of the main verb. For 3rd person singular: ei + auta.

Myyjä ei ole ystävällinen eikä auta minua kassalla.
- “The salesperson is not friendly and does not help me at the checkout.”

Notes:

on (is) → ei ole (is not)
auttaa (helps) → ei auta (does not help)
The conjunction eikä = “and not / nor” continuing the negation.

If you only want to negate one part:

Myyjä ei ole ystävällinen, mutta hän auttaa minua kassalla.
- “The salesperson is not friendly, but he/she helps me at the checkout.”

Is there a difference between myyjä and kassa when talking about the person?

Yes, there is a nuance:

myyjä
- literally “seller”, typically salesperson / shop assistant
- focuses on the role of selling and serving customers
kassa
- literally “cash register / checkout”
- informally also used for the cashier (the person at the till)

So you might hear:

Kassa on ystävällinen. = The cashier is friendly.

But in more neutral, standard language, myyjä is the typical word for salesperson, including the one operating the checkout. In your sentence, myyjä is the most natural choice.