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Jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta, virkailija pyytää sitä uudestaan.

Jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta, virkailija pyytää sitä uudestaan.
If the personal identity code is missing from the form, the clerk asks for it again.
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Questions & Answers about Jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta, virkailija pyytää sitä uudestaan.

Why does the sentence start with Jos, and what does that structure mean?

Jos means if and introduces a conditional subordinate clause. The sentence has the common pattern:

  • Jos X, Y. = If X, (then) Y.

So Jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta, ... sets the condition, and the main clause tells what happens if that condition is true.

Why is there a comma after lomakkeesta?

In Finnish, it’s standard to put a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause. Here, the jos-clause ends at lomakkeesta, so you write:

  • Jos ..., virkailija ...

This comma is much more consistent/mandatory in Finnish than in English.

What exactly does henkilötunnus mean, and why is it in that form?

Henkilötunnus is the Finnish personal identity code (often abbreviated hetu). In this sentence it’s the subject of puuttuu (is missing), so it appears in the basic dictionary form (nominative singular): henkilötunnus.

How does the verb puuttuu work? Why is it not something like puuttuu sen or puuttuu se?

Puuttua (to be missing / to be lacking) commonly uses this structure:

  • X puuttuu jostakin = X is missing from something

So the “source” or “place it’s missing from” is typically in the elative case (-sta/-stä). You don’t mark the missing item as an object; it behaves like a subject in Finnish:

  • henkilötunnus puuttuu = the ID code is missing
Why is it lomakkeesta and not lomakkeella or lomakkeessa?

Because puuttua typically takes the elative for “missing from”:

  • lomake (form)
  • lomakkeesta = from the form / out of the form

Other cases would shift the meaning:

  • lomakkeessa (in the form) would suggest location inside it, but puuttua idiomatically wants -sta/-stä.
  • lomakkeella (on the form) is used for something physically on a surface; forms are usually treated as containers/texts, and the idiom remains lomakkeesta with puuttuu.
Who or what is virkailija?

Virkailija means a clerk, official, or staff member (often in an office, public administration, customer service desk, etc.). It’s the subject of the main clause: virkailija pyytää... = the clerk asks...

Why is the object sitä (partitive) and not sen (genitive) or se?

The verb pyytää (to ask for / request) commonly takes a partitive object, especially when the request is not framed as a completed, fully “bounded” action:

  • pyytää jotakin (partitive) = to ask for something

So:

  • virkailija pyytää sitä = the clerk asks for it

Using sen (genitive/accusative-like) would sound unnatural here and would suggest a more “complete/result” framing, which is not the normal pattern with pyytää.

What does sitä refer to?

Sitä (it, partitive) refers back to henkilötunnus. Finnish often uses a pronoun in the second clause instead of repeating the noun:

  • henkilötunnus ... virkailija pyytää sitä
    = the ID code ... the clerk asks for it
What does uudestaan mean, and is it different from uudelleen?

Uudestaan means again / anew. It implies the clerk requests it another time because it wasn’t provided or something went wrong.

Uudelleen is very similar and often interchangeable. Roughly:

  • uudestaan can feel a bit more like once more / over again
  • uudelleen can feel a bit more neutral/formal

In this sentence, both would work.

Why is the verb pyytää in present tense? Is this talking about the future?

Finnish often uses the present tense to describe general procedures, rules, or typical actions (like instructions or administrative processes). So it can mean:

  • If the ID code is missing, the clerk will ask for it again (as a general rule)

It’s not necessarily “right now”; it’s describing what typically happens.

Is the word order flexible here, and could it be written differently?

Yes, Finnish word order is fairly flexible, but changes emphasis. This is a neutral, clear order:

  • Jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta, virkailija pyytää sitä uudestaan.

You could also write:

  • Virkailija pyytää sitä uudestaan, jos henkilötunnus puuttuu lomakkeesta.

That puts the main action first and the condition second; the meaning stays essentially the same, but the information flow/emphasis changes slightly.