Questions & Answers about Tarvitsen verokortin seuraavaa työvuoroa varten, jotta palkka maksetaan oikein.
Tarvitsen is the verb tarvita (to need) in the present tense, 1st person singular:
- minä tarvitsen = I need Other forms for comparison:
- sinä tarvitset = you need
- hän tarvitsee = he/she needs
- me tarvitsemme = we need
Verokortin is the object in the total object form (often called accusative, but it looks like the genitive -n in singular nouns).
- verokortti (basic form) → verokortin Using the total object suggests you mean a specific, complete thing: you need (the/a) tax card (not “some tax card” or “part of it”).
Verokorttia would be the partitive object, which often implies:
- an unspecific or partial need, or
- an ongoing / not completed situation.
So:
- Tarvitsen verokortin = I need the tax card (a complete, concrete item; typical here)
- Tarvitsen verokorttia = I need (some) tax-card-related thing / I’m in need of a tax card (less natural in this specific context)
The postposition varten (for; for the purpose of) typically governs the partitive:
- tätä varten = for this (purpose)
- seuraavaa työvuoroa varten = for the next shift
So both words agree in the partitive singular:
- seuraava → seuraavaa
- työvuoro → työvuoroa
Varten is a postposition (like a preposition, but it comes after its noun phrase). It forms a phrase meaning for / for the purpose of:
- seuraavaa työvuoroa varten = for the next work shift
Word order is typically:
- noun phrase + varten
Because jotta introduces a subordinate clause (a purpose/result clause). In Finnish, a subordinate clause is normally separated with a comma:
- main clause: Tarvitsen verokortin seuraavaa työvuoroa varten,
- subordinate clause: jotta palkka maksetaan oikein.
Jotta typically expresses purpose (so that / in order that):
- … jotta palkka maksetaan oikein = … so that the pay is paid correctly
Että is more neutral and often corresponds to that (reporting content), not purpose:
- Hän sanoi, että… = He said that…
Maksetaan is the passive present of maksaa (to pay). Finnish passive is often used when:
- the doer is unknown, obvious, or not important (e.g., the employer/payroll system)
- you want an impersonal tone
So palkka maksetaan oikein is like the pay will be paid correctly / they will pay the pay correctly (without naming who “they” are).
In Finnish passive, the thing being paid is commonly in the nominative when it’s a “whole/total” item:
- Palkka maksetaan = The pay is paid (in full / as a complete amount)
If you used the partitive (palkkaa), it would suggest something like an incomplete/ongoing amount or a less bounded idea:
- palkkaa maksetaan can sound like (some) pay is being paid / pay is being paid (in general)
Yes. Finnish present tense often covers near future or scheduled events, especially with context:
- palkka maksetaan oikein can naturally mean the pay is/will be paid correctly (e.g., on the next payday)
Oikein is an adverb meaning correctly in this context:
- maksaa oikein = to pay correctly
Oikeasti usually means really / genuinely / actually, not “correctly”:
- Oikeasti? = Really? So here oikein is the natural choice for correctly.
That would be unnatural/incorrect in standard Finnish, because että doesn’t normally introduce a purpose clause. For purpose, you use:
- jotta (most common)
- sometimes että can appear in certain colloquial or fixed patterns, but in this sentence jotta is the correct, idiomatic option.