Seuraava työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla.

The next work shift starts tomorrow morning.

Breakdown of Seuraava työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla.

• huomenna: tomorrow
• aamu: the morning
• -lla: on
• alkaa: to start
• seuraava: next
• työvuoro: the shift

Questions & Answers about Seuraava työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla.

Why is seuraava in the form seuraava and not something else?

Seuraava is an adjective meaning next/following, and it agrees with the noun it modifies. The head noun here is työvuoro (work shift), which is in the basic dictionary form (nominative singular), so the adjective is also nominative singular: seuraava työvuoro.

---

What does työvuoro literally mean, and can it be broken into parts?

Yes. työvuoro is a compound:

• työ = work
• vuoro = turn/shift
  Together: work shift. Finnish forms compounds very freely, so you’ll see lots of words built like this.

---

Why is the verb alkaa in the form alkaa?

alkaa is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb alkaa (to begin/start).
The subject seuraava työvuoro is singular, so Finnish uses 3rd singular:

• Minä alan (I start)
• Sinä alat (you start)
• Se alkaa (it starts)
  So: työvuoro alkaa = the shift starts.

---

Is Finnish word order fixed here, or could it be different?

The neutral, most common order is: Subject + verb + time adverbials → Seuraava työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla.

But Finnish allows changes for emphasis or style, for example:

• Huomenna aamulla seuraava työvuoro alkaa. (emphasizes the time)
• Seuraava työvuoro alkaa aamulla. (drops huomenna if context already implies tomorrow)

The meaning stays basically the same; the focus changes.

---

Why are there two time expressions: huomenna and aamulla? Isn’t one enough?

They specify different things:

• huomenna = the day (tomorrow)
• aamulla = the time-of-day (in the morning)

Together they mean tomorrow morning in a slightly more explicit way: tomorrow, in the morning. It’s very natural Finnish.

---

Why is it aamulla and not aamu or aamuna?

aamulla is the adessive case (-lla/-llä), which is commonly used for when something happens at a general time:

• aamulla = in the morning
• illalla = in the evening
• yöllä = at night

aamu would just be the noun morning (not a “when” expression by itself).
aamuna (essive case) can mean as/on a morning, and is used in more specific patterns (often with modifiers): e.g. kauniina aamuna = on a beautiful morning. For a simple “in the morning,” aamulla is the default.

---

So what exactly does the -lla ending mean here?

The adessive -lla/-llä has several uses (often “on/at”), and one very common use is time:

• aamulla = in the morning
• maanantaina is different (weekday uses -na/-nä, essive), but parts of the day typically use -lla/-llä

So here -lla marks when in a natural idiomatic way.

---

Why is there no word for the (like the next shift)?

Finnish has no articles (a/an/the). Definiteness is usually understood from context.
Seuraava työvuoro can be understood as the next shift or a next shift, but in real usage it often corresponds to the next shift because “next” typically implies a specific one in context.

---

Could you omit seuraava or replace it with something else?

Yes, depending on what you want to say:

• Työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla. = The shift starts tomorrow morning (which shift is clear from context)
• Se työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla. = That shift starts tomorrow morning (se adds “that/it”)
• Uusi työvuoro alkaa huomenna aamulla. = A new shift starts tomorrow morning

Each choice changes how specific or contrastive it sounds.

---

How do you pronounce this sentence (especially long vowels and stress)?

Key points:

• Stress is usually on the first syllable of each word: SEUraava TYÖvuoro ALkaa HUOmenna AAmulla.
• Long vowels matter:
  • huomenna has short vowels
  • aamulla starts with a long aa (held longer than a single a)
• työ has ö (like German ö, not English o)

Approximate syllables:

• seu-raa-va
• työ-vuo-ro
• al-kaa
• huo-men-na
• aa-mul-la