Älä laita kuppia pöydän reunalle, koska se putoaa helposti.

Don’t put the cup on the edge of the table, because it falls easily.

Breakdown of Älä laita kuppia pöydän reunalle, koska se putoaa helposti.

• koska: because
• se: it
• helposti: easily
• älä: don't
• laittaa: to put
• -lle: onto
• pudota: to fall
• reuna: margin
• pöytä: table
• kuppi: cup

Questions & Answers about Älä laita kuppia pöydän reunalle, koska se putoaa helposti.

Why does the sentence start with Älä? What exactly is it?

Älä is the negative imperative for you (singular) in Finnish. It means don’t when giving a command to one person.

• Singular: Älä
  • main verb in imperative (e.g., Älä laita…)
• Plural: Älkää (e.g., Älkää laittako…) So Älä laita… = Don’t put…

Why is it laita and not laitat or laittaa?

laita is the 2nd person singular imperative form of the verb laittaa (to put).

• Infinitive: laittaa
• Present (you put): laitat
• Imperative (put!): laita! In negative commands, Finnish uses Älä + imperative: Älä laita.

Why is it kuppia and not kuppi? What case is kuppia?

kuppia is partitive singular of kuppi (cup). It’s used here because the command is negative. A key rule: A direct object is often in the partitive in negative sentences/commands.

• Positive: Laita kuppi pöydän reunalle. (often kuppi as a total object)
• Negative: Älä laita kuppia… (partitive is strongly expected)

So does kuppia mean “some cup” or “part of a cup”?

Not necessarily. In this context, the partitive mainly signals “not a completed/total action” and is required by negation, not that you’re putting “part of” a cup. English doesn’t mark this difference in the object, but Finnish often does.

Why is it pöydän (ending in -n)?

pöydän is the genitive singular of pöytä (table). Here it marks a possessor/descriptor relationship:

• pöydän reuna = the table’s edge / the edge of the table So pöydän modifies reunalle (via reuna).

What does reunalle mean, and what is the -lle ending?

reunalle = onto/to the edge (specifically, movement to a surface/onto something). The ending -lle is the allative case, commonly meaning to/onto:

• pöydälle = onto the table
• reunalle = onto the edge So pöydän reunalle = onto the table’s edge.

Why is it pöydän reunalle and not something like “reuna pöydälle”? What’s the structure?

Finnish typically puts the genitive modifier first:

• pöydän reuna = table’s edge Then it adds the needed case ending to the head word:
• pöydän reuna + -lle → pöydän reunalle So the core noun is reuna (edge), and pöydän tells whose edge it is.

What does koska do here? Is it always “because”?

koska introduces a reason clause and usually translates as because:

• Älä laita… koska… = Don’t put… because… It’s very common in everyday Finnish. (Finnish also has sillä in some “because/for” situations, but koska is the straightforward choice.)

Why is se used—what does it refer to?

se is it (3rd person singular) and refers back to kuppi (the cup). Even though kuppi was in the partitive (kuppia) earlier, the reference is still to the same real-world thing: the cup.

What form is putoaa, and why that form?

putoaa is the present tense, 3rd person singular of pudota/putoaa (to fall).

• se putoaa = it falls / it will fall Finnish present tense often covers both English present and near-future depending on context.

Where does helposti fit grammatically, and can it move around?

helposti is an adverb meaning easily. It modifies putoaa (falls). Word order is flexible, but the most natural options are:

• se putoaa helposti (very common)
• helposti se putoaa (more emphasis on “easily”) The given order sounds neutral and natural.

How would the sentence change if I were speaking to more than one person?

To address multiple people, Finnish uses Älkää and typically the -ko/-kö form of the imperative:

• Älkää laittako kuppia pöydän reunalle, koska se putoaa helposti. Meaning stays the same, but it’s now Don’t (you all) put…

Is there anything tricky about pronunciation in Älä laita kuppia pöydän reunalle?

A few common points for English speakers:

• Ä is like the vowel in cat (but a bit more fronted): Älä
• Double consonants matter: kuppia has pp (hold it longer than a single p)
• Stress is usually on the first syllable: KUP-pi-a, PÖY-dän, REU-nal-le