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Puhelu katkeaa heti, joten lähetän tekstiviestin.

Puhelu katkeaa heti, joten lähetän tekstiviestin.
The call cuts off immediately, so I send a text message.
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Questions & Answers about Puhelu katkeaa heti, joten lähetän tekstiviestin.

Why is puhelu in the plain basic form (no ending)? What role does it have in the sentence?

Puhelu is the subject of the first clause (Puhelu katkeaa heti). In Finnish, the subject is typically in the nominative (the dictionary form), which often has no visible ending in the singular: puhelu.

What verb form is katkeaa? Why isn’t it in the past tense?

Katkeaa is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of katketa (to break off / to get cut off). Finnish present tense is used for:

  • something happening right now (The call cuts off immediately),
  • something that typically happens in this situation (The call keeps dropping),
  • and sometimes near-future situations, depending on context.

If you wanted explicit past, you’d use imperfect: Puhelu katkesi heti (The call cut off immediately).

How do we get from the dictionary form katketa to katkeaa?

Katketa is a so-called A-verb (ending in -ta/-tä). For present tense, you remove -ta/-tä and add personal endings. In 3rd person singular, the ending is typically -V (a long vowel, often written as a doubled vowel):

  • stem: katke-
  • 3rd person singular present: katkeaa

So katkeaa = (it) breaks off / gets cut off.

What does heti do, and can it move around in the sentence?

Heti is an adverb meaning immediately / right away. Its placement is fairly flexible, but it most commonly comes near the verb or right after it, like here:

  • Puhelu katkeaa heti.

Other natural options include:

  • Puhelu heti katkeaa (more marked/emphatic)
  • Heti puhelu katkeaa (emphasis: immediately the call drops)
What is joten, and why is there a comma before it?

Joten is a conjunction meaning so / therefore, introducing a result/consequence clause. Finnish commonly uses a comma to separate two independent clauses when the second is introduced by a connector like joten:

  • Puhelu katkeaa heti, joten lähetän tekstiviestin.

This is similar to English: …, so I’ll send a text message.

Why does it say lähetän without minä? Isn’t the subject missing?

Finnish usually drops personal pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Lähetän is 1st person singular present (I send / I will send), so minä isn’t necessary.

You can add minä for emphasis/contrast:

  • … joten minä lähetän tekstiviestin (emphasis: I will send it)
What case is tekstiviestin, and why does it end in -n?

Tekstiviestin is the object in the “total object” form (often called accusative, but in the singular it usually looks like the genitive -n).

Here it means you’re sending one complete text message (a bounded/whole action):

  • lähetän tekstiviestin = you send a/the text message (as a complete unit)

If you used the partitive (tekstiviestiä), it would suggest an unbounded/ongoing or incomplete idea (context-dependent), e.g.:

  • lähetän tekstiviestiä could imply I’m in the process of texting / sending messages or an incomplete/ongoing action (less typical for a single, finished send).
Is lähetän present tense or future? How can it mean “I’ll send”?

Formally, lähetän is present tense. Finnish often uses the present tense for near-future intentions when the context makes it clear:

  • …, joten lähetän tekstiviestin. = so I’ll send a text message.

If you want to make the intention explicit, you can add words like:

  • aion (I intend to): …, joten aion lähettää tekstiviestin.
  • taidan (I guess I’ll): …, joten taidan lähettää tekstiviestin.
What is tekstiviesti grammatically? Is it a compound word, and how does it inflect?

Yes, tekstiviesti is a compound: teksti + viesti. It inflects like a normal noun; you add endings to the whole compound:

  • nominative: tekstiviesti
  • “-n” object/genitive-looking form: tekstiviestin
  • partitive: tekstiviestiä
  • plural: tekstiviestit, etc.