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Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa, joten haen sen sieltä.

Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa, joten haen sen sieltä.
The screwdriver is in the storage room, so I will get it from there.
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Questions & Answers about Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa, joten haen sen sieltä.

Why does varasto become varastossa?

-ssa/-ssä is the inessive case, meaning in/inside something.
So varastossa = in the storage room / in the warehouse.
Base form: varasto → stem varasto- → varastossa.

How do I know whether to use -ssa or -ssä?

It follows vowel harmony:

  • Back vowels (a, o, u) → -ssa
  • Front vowels (ä, ö, y) → -ssä

varasto has a, o, so it takes -ssa → varastossa.

What is joten, and how is it different from English so?

joten means so / therefore, and it commonly links two independent clauses like this.
It’s a fairly neutral, standard connector. In speech you may also hear niin used in a similar “so…” sense, but joten is a clear “therefore” style link.

Why is it haen and not hae?

haen is the 1st person singular present form of hakea (to fetch / to pick up / to get):

  • (minä) haen = I fetch / I’m going to fetch

hae is the imperative (a command):

  • hae se! = fetch it!
Is haen “I’m fetching” or “I will fetch”?

Finnish present tense often covers both:

  • haen sen can mean I fetch it / I’m fetching it / I’ll go get it.

Context does the heavy lifting. Here, with joten (“therefore”), it naturally reads as I’ll go get it.

Why is the object sen (not se or something else)?

se is the basic form (it/that), but as an object it changes form.
sen is the genitive/accusative-type object form used for a definite, complete object—roughly “I’ll fetch it (the screwdriver).”

So:

  • se = it (subject form)
  • sen = it (object form here)
Could it be haen sitä instead of haen sen?

Yes, but the meaning/feel changes:

  • haen sen = I’ll fetch it (the whole thing, definitively).
  • haen sitä (partitive sitä) often suggests an ongoing/indefinite action (or sometimes “some of it”), like “I’m looking for it / fetching it (not framed as completed).”

With a specific screwdriver you’re going to retrieve, sen is the natural choice.

Why do we say sieltä at the end, not siellä?

Because sieltä is the elative form meaning from there/out of there.
You’re fetching it from the storage place, so you need movement out of that location.

Compare:

  • siellä = there (staying in a place)
  • sieltä = from there (movement out/from)
What exactly does on do in Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa?

on is the 3rd person singular present of olla (to be).
So X on Y-ssa is a basic location pattern:

  • Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa = “The screwdriver is in the storage room.”
Do I have to include se in the second clause? Could I just say joten haen sieltä?

You can omit it if it’s obvious, especially in conversation:

  • Ruuvimeisseli on varastossa, joten haen sieltä.

But including sen is very natural and clear, because it explicitly marks what you’re fetching:

  • …joten haen sen sieltä.
Why is the word order like this, and can it change?

Finnish word order is fairly flexible, but this is the neutral, straightforward order:

  • [Subject] on [place], joten [verb] [object] [from-place]

You can move parts for emphasis:

  • Sen haen sieltä. = “It’s that (the screwdriver) that I’ll fetch from there.”
  • Sieltä haen sen. = Emphasizes from there.

Neutral version: haen sen sieltä.

Is ruuvimeisseli a compound word, and how is it built?

Yes: ruuvi = screw + meisseli = (screw)driver.
Together ruuvimeisseli literally means screw-driver.
In Finnish, compound nouns are extremely common, and they’re usually written as one word.