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Pyydän lupaa, ennen kuin avaan sivuoven.

Pyydän lupaa, ennen kuin avaan sivuoven.
I ask for permission before I open the side door.
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Questions & Answers about Pyydän lupaa, ennen kuin avaan sivuoven.

What does pyydän tell me about the subject, and why isn’t minä included?

Pyydän is the 1st person singular present tense form of pyytää (to ask/request). In Finnish, the verb ending usually makes the subject clear, so minä (I) is typically omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast:

  • Neutral: Pyydän lupaa.
  • Emphatic/contrastive: Minä pyydän lupaa (en sinä).
Why is it pyydän lupaa and not pyydän lupa?

Because lupa (permission) is the object of the verb pyytää, and objects must appear in an object case. Lupaa is the partitive singular of lupa.

The base form lupa (nominative) wouldn’t be used as a direct object here.

Could it also be pyydän luvan? What’s the difference between lupaa and luvan?

Yes, pyydän luvan is also possible.

  • Pyydän lupaa (partitive) often sounds like asking for permission in general / making a request, with the outcome not presented as “completed” in the grammar.
  • Pyydän luvan (genitive/accusative-type “total object”) can sound a bit more like requesting a specific permission, often implying a more definite, bounded request.

In everyday speech, both can be heard; pyydän lupaa is very common and natural.

What is ennen kuin grammatically, and why do we use kuin here?

Ennen kuin is a fixed conjunction meaning before that introduces a subordinate clause:

  • ennen kuin avaan sivuoven = before I open the side door

Finnish uses kuin in this set phrase (ennen kuin, sen jälkeen kun/kun etc.). You generally don’t swap kuin for kun in ennen kuin.

Why is there a comma: Pyydän lupaa, ennen kuin…?

Finnish normally uses a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by conjunctions like että, kun, koska, ennen kuin, etc.

So the comma separates:

  • main clause: Pyydän lupaa
  • subordinate clause: ennen kuin avaan sivuoven
What form is avaan, and how do I know the tense?

Avaan is 1st person singular present tense of avata (to open).

  • avata → avaan = I open / I will open (context decides whether it’s present or near-future)

Finnish present tense often covers both “I open” and “I’m going to open”.

Why is it sivuoven and not sivuovi or sivuovea?

Sivuoven is the “total object” form (often called accusative in learner materials; it looks like the genitive singular). It suggests opening the door as a complete, bounded action: open the side door (all the way / as a whole action).

Compare:

  • Avaan sivuoven. = I’ll open the side door (a complete action)
  • Avaan sivuovea. (partitive) = I’m opening the side door (process/ongoing), or only partially/opening at it (less common, but grammatical in the right context)
How do I know sivuoven is an object and not “of the side door” (genitive)?

In form, sivuoven matches the genitive singular, but in a sentence like Avaan sivuoven, its role is determined by the verb avata, which takes a direct object (what you open).

So here it functions as the object of avaan, not possession. Context + verb valency tells you which it is.

Is the word order flexible? Could I say Ennen kuin avaan sivuoven, pyydän lupaa?

Yes. Both are correct and natural:

  • Pyydän lupaa, ennen kuin avaan sivuoven.
  • Ennen kuin avaan sivuoven, pyydän lupaa.

The difference is mostly information structure:

  • Starting with Ennen kuin… foregrounds the timing condition first.
Could this be said with a noun/infinitive instead of a full ennen kuin clause?

Yes. A common alternative is a nominalized structure:

  • Pyydän lupaa ennen sivuoven avaamista. = I ask permission before opening the side door.

This is a bit more formal/compact. The original with ennen kuin is very straightforward and common in speech and writing.