Kirjasto on vielä hetken auki, joten lainaan yhden kirjan.

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Breakdown of Kirjasto on vielä hetken auki, joten lainaan yhden kirjan.

• olla: to be
• joten: so
• yksi: one

Questions & Answers about Kirjasto on vielä hetken auki, joten lainaan yhden kirjan.

Why is kirjasto in the plain base form here—does Finnish not need an article like the library?

Finnish has no articles (a/the), so kirjasto can mean a library or the library depending on context.
Here, Kirjasto on... is a normal way to say The library is... (context usually makes it definite).

What does on ... auki literally mean, and why use on?

on is the 3rd person singular of olla (to be).
auki means open (literally “in an open state”).
So Kirjasto on auki = The library is open. Finnish often uses olla + adjective/state word like this.

What is the function of vielä in vielä hetken auki?

vielä means still / yet.
In this sentence it adds the idea that the library remains open (it hasn’t closed yet): still open (for a bit).

Why is it hetken (ending in -n) instead of hetki?

hetken is the genitive/accusative singular of hetki (a moment).With many time expressions, Finnish uses this form to mean :