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Palautus on myöhässä, joten maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun.

Palautus on myöhässä, joten maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun.
The return is late, so I pay a small late fee.

Breakdown of Palautus on myöhässä, joten maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun.

olla
to be
pieni
small
joten
so
maksaa
to pay
myöhässä
late
palautus
returning
myöhästymismaksu
late fee
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Questions & Answers about Palautus on myöhässä, joten maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun.

Why isn’t minä (I) included before maksan?

Finnish commonly drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person. Maksan is clearly 1st person singular (“I pay”), so minä is optional.
You’d add minä mainly for emphasis or contrast: Minä maksan (as opposed to someone else paying).

What part of speech is palautus, and why is it in this form?
Palautus is a noun (a “return”). It’s in the nominative singular because it’s the subject of the clause: Palautus on myöhässä (“The return is late”). No case ending is needed for the basic subject form.
Why does Finnish say on myöhässä instead of using an adjective like “is late”?

Finnish uses an idiomatic structure: olla + inessive (-ssa/-ssä) to express being in a state/condition.
So on myöhässä is literally like “is in lateness,” meaning “is late/overdue.” This is a set, very common way to express lateness.

What is the function of -ssä in myöhässä?

-ssä is the inessive case, meaning “in.” With certain state expressions, Finnish uses it metaphorically:

  • myöhässä = “late” (literally “in lateness”)
    You’ll see similar patterns like on kotona (“is at home”), on töissä (“is at work”).
What does joten do, and why is there a comma before it?

Joten means “so / therefore,” introducing a result or consequence. Finnish normally places a comma before coordinating/result connectors like joten when they link two full clauses:
Palautus on myöhässä, joten … = “The return is late, so …”

How is maksan formed?

It’s the verb maksaa (“to pay”) conjugated in the present tense, 1st person singular:

  • maksaa → minä maksan (“I pay / I’m paying / I will pay” depending on context)
Why is the object pienen myöhästymismaksun ending in -n?

That -n marks the object as a total/complete object (often called the accusative; it looks like the genitive -n in singular). Here it implies paying the fee as a whole, a specific amount/fee:

  • maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun = “I pay a small late fee” (one complete fee)

If you used the partitive, it would suggest an incomplete/ongoing/indefinite amount (less natural here):

  • maksan myöhästymismaksua (sounds like “I’m paying (some of) a late fee” / focusing on the process)
Why does pieni become pienen?

Adjectives agree with the noun in case and number. Since myöhästymismaksun has -n, the adjective takes the same ending:

  • pieni (basic form)
  • pienen (singular with -n)
    So: pienen myöhästymismaksun = “a small late fee” as the object.
Is myöhästymismaksu one word, and how is it built?

Yes—Finnish often forms compounds as one word.
myöhästymismaksu = myöhästyminen (“being late” / “delay”) + maksu (“fee”) → “late fee / overdue fee.”
In the sentence it appears as myöhästymaksu-n with -n for the object.

Does the present tense here mean “I pay” right now or “I will pay”?
Finnish present tense covers both “I pay” and “I will pay,” and context decides. In a situation like an overdue return, it often naturally means a near-future or arranged action (“so I’ll pay…”), even though the form is present: maksan.
Could I replace joten with koska?

Not directly without changing the structure, because they express different logic:

  • joten = result (“X happened, so Y follows”)
  • koska = reason (“Y happens because X”)

Your sentence is result-structured: late → therefore pay.
A koska version would flip it:

  • Maksan pienen myöhästymismaksun, koska palautus on myöhässä.
How should I pronounce tricky parts like myöhässä and myöhästymismaksun?

Key points:

  • y, ö, ä are front vowels (different from English).
  • Double letters matter: length is meaningful. In myöhässä, ss is a long consonant.
    Roughly:
  • myöhässä ≈ myöhäs-sä (hold the ss slightly longer)
  • myöhästymismaksun has clear syllables: my-öh-äs-ty-mis-mak-sun (and the final -n is pronounced).