Questions & Answers about Jos metro on myöhässä, kävelen kotiin.
Why does the sentence start with jos? Is it the same as English if?
Yes. Jos is the common word for if when you’re expressing a condition:
- Jos X, (niin) Y. = If X, (then) Y. Finnish often uses a comma between the condition and the result, and it can optionally include niin (then), especially in more careful or emphatic style:
- Jos metro on myöhässä, (niin) kävelen kotiin.
Why is there a comma after myöhässä?
In Finnish, the conditional clause starting with jos is typically separated from the main clause with a comma:
- Jos ... , kävelen ... This is standard written punctuation (and also common in careful speech).
What does on myöhässä literally mean? Why not use a verb like “to be late”?
Literally, on myöhässä is is in lateness / is late. Finnish commonly expresses “to be late” with:
- olla + myöhässä (to be + late) So:
- metro on myöhässä = the metro is late
What case is myöhässä in, and why?
Myöhässä is in the inessive case (-ssa/-ssä), which often corresponds to . Here it’s part of an idiomatic expression: