Aikataulu näyttää, että tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla.

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Questions & Answers about Aikataulu näyttää, että tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla.

Why is there a comma before että?

In Finnish, you normally put a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by että (and also koska, jos, etc.).
So Aikataulu näyttää, että... is the standard punctuation pattern: main clause + comma + että-clause.

What exactly does näyttää, että... mean here? Is it show or seem?

näyttää can mean both to show and to seem/appear, and context decides.
With a schedule (aikataulu), Aikataulu näyttää, että... is most naturally understood as The schedule shows/indicates that...
(You could still translate it as seems to indicate, but it’s less direct.)

Is että mandatory, or can I drop it?

In this structure, että is basically required. Finnish typically uses että to introduce a content clause after verbs like näyttää, sanoa, luulla, tietää:

  • Aikataulu näyttää, että tapaaminen on huomenna. (natural)
    Without että, the sentence would sound incomplete or would need to be restructured.
How is the word order working here? Why is tapaaminen before on?

Finnish default word order in a neutral statement is often subject + verb.
In the että-clause, tapaaminen is the subject and on is the verb: tapaaminen on... = the meeting is...
You can change word order for emphasis (e.g., että huomenna aamulla on tapaaminen), but the given order is the most neutral.

Why is it tapaaminen on and not something like tapaamisen on?

Because tapaaminen is the grammatical subject of the clause, so it stays in the nominative: tapaaminen.
tapaamisen would be genitive (often “of the meeting” / object-like uses), which would not fit this basic X is Y structure.

What case is aamulla, and why is it used?

aamulla is the adessive case (-lla/-llä). With time expressions, adessive commonly means at/during a time period:

  • aamulla = in the morning / in the morning time
    So huomenna aamulla = tomorrow morning.
Why is it huomenna aamulla and not a single word like huomenaamulla?

Both patterns exist in practice:

  • huomenna aamulla = very common and neutral
  • huomenaamulla = also possible (more like tomorrow-morning as one unit), but huomenna aamulla is often preferred in everyday language
    Writing them separately is a safe default.
Is huomenna a case form? Why does it end in -na?

Yes. huomenna is a fixed adessive-like/essive-type time form (historically related to case endings) meaning tomorrow.
You generally just learn huomenna as the standard adverb for tomorrow (and similarly tänään = today, eilen = yesterday).

Could I replace aikataulu with kalenteri or something else? Would the grammar change?

Yes, you can swap the noun without changing the structure:

  • Kalenteri näyttää, että tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla.
  • Varausjärjestelmä näyttää, että... (booking system)
    Grammar stays the same: [thing] näyttää, että [clause].
Are there other natural ways to say the same idea in Finnish?

Yes, a few common alternatives are:

  • Aikataulun mukaan tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla. (According to the schedule...)
  • Aikataulusta näkyy, että tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla. (It’s visible from the schedule that...)
  • Aikataulussa lukee, että tapaaminen on huomenna aamulla. (It says in the schedule that...)
    All are natural; the differences are mostly style and emphasis.