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Remontin aikana patteri on irrotettu, ja keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää.

Remontin aikana patteri on irrotettu, ja keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää.
During the renovation the radiator has been detached, and it is cooler than usual in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Remontin aikana patteri on irrotettu, ja keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää.

olla
to be
ja
and
keittiö
the kitchen
-ssä
in
aikana
during
tavallinen
usual
remontti
the renovation
patteri
the radiator
irrottaa
to detach
viileämpi
cooler
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Questions & Answers about Remontin aikana patteri on irrotettu, ja keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää.

Why is it remontin aikana and not remontti aikana?

Because aikana (during) is a postposition that requires the word before it to be in the genitive case.
So remontti → remontin = during the renovation.

What part of speech is aikana? Is it like a preposition?

It’s a postposition (it comes after the noun phrase), functioning like English during. Finnish uses many postpositions:

  • remontin aikana = during the renovation
  • (compare) remontin jälkeen = after the renovation
What does patteri mean here, and is it a common word?

Patteri usually means a radiator / heater (the kind fixed to a wall). It’s the normal everyday word for that.

Why does Finnish say patteri on irrotettu? What grammar is that?

on irrotettu is the perfect passive:

  • on = present of to be
  • irrotettu = past participle in the passive (roughly removed/detached)

Together it means has been removed / has been detached (with the focus on the result, not on who did it).

How is patteri on irrotettu different from patteri irrotettiin?
  • patteri on irrotettu (perfect passive) emphasizes the current state/result: it’s now in the “removed” state.
  • patteri irrotettiin (past passive) emphasizes the event in the past: it was removed (at some point), without necessarily highlighting the present result.

Both can translate similarly, but the nuance differs.

Why is there no word for “someone” or “they” who removed it?

Finnish often uses the passive to avoid naming the agent when it’s unknown, irrelevant, or obvious from context. So on irrotettu naturally leaves out who did it.

Why is there a comma before ja?

Because ja is joining two independent clauses: 1) Remontin aikana patteri on irrotettu
2) keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää

In Finnish, you normally use a comma before ja when it connects full clauses (each could stand as its own sentence).

What case is keittiössä, and why is it used?

keittiössä is the inessive case (-ssa/-ssä), meaning in the kitchen.
It sets the location for the second clause: In the kitchen, it is…

Why does the sentence say keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää and not keittiö on…?

Because the meaning is about the temperature/condition in the kitchen, not that the kitchen itself “is” something. Finnish commonly uses this structure:

  • Keittiössä on kylmää. = It’s cold in the kitchen.
    The “thing that exists” is the coldness/temperature, and keittiössä tells where.
Why are tavallista and viileämpää in the partitive?

After comparatives, Finnish often uses the partitive in this “than usual” type structure:

  • tavallista viileämpää = cooler than usual

Here:

  • tavallista is partitive of tavallinen (usual/normal)
  • viileämpää is partitive of the comparative viileämpi (cooler)

This is a very common fixed pattern.

Does viileämpää mean “a bit cool” or “cooler”?

It means cooler (comparative).

  • viileä = cool
  • viileämpi = cooler
  • viileämpää = cooler (partitive form used in this construction)

If you wanted “coolish / slightly cool” you’d use different wording (like hieman viileä / viileähkö), not the comparative.

Why is on used twice?

Because there are two separate clauses, each with its own verb: 1) patteri on irrotettu = the radiator has been removed
2) keittiössä on tavallista viileämpää = it is cooler than usual in the kitchen