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Pidän oven kiinni, etten kuule askeleita käytävästä yöllä.

Pidän oven kiinni, etten kuule askeleita käytävästä yöllä.
I keep the door closed so that I don’t hear footsteps from the corridor at night.
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Questions & Answers about Pidän oven kiinni, etten kuule askeleita käytävästä yöllä.

Why is it Pidän and not something like Minä pidän?

Finnish commonly drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person/number. Pidän (1st person singular) already means I keep/I hold. You can add minä for emphasis/contrast, but it’s usually unnecessary.

What does pidän oven kiinni mean grammatically—why is kiinni there?

This is a very common pattern: pitää + object + state = to keep something in a certain state.

  • pidän = I keep
  • oven = the door (as the object)
  • kiinni = closed/shut (literally “attached/closed” as an adverb/state word)

So pidän oven kiinni = I keep the door shut/closed.

Why is it oven and not ovi?

Oven is the genitive/accusative form of ovi (door). In this kind of “keep X in state Y” structure, the thing being kept (the door) is treated as the object, and Finnish uses oven here.

Is kiinni an adjective? Why doesn’t it agree with ovi?

In this sentence kiinni behaves like an adverb/state word, not a normal agreeing adjective. It doesn’t take agreement endings like an adjective would. You basically treat kiinni as a fixed form meaning shut/closed (also used in many set phrases).

What does etten mean, and how is it formed?

Etten is essentially että + en combined:

  • että = that / so that
  • en = I do not

So etten = that I don’t / so that I don’t. It introduces a subordinate clause with a negative meaning.

Why is the verb kuule and not kuulen?

Because Finnish negation uses a special structure:

  • the negative verb carries person: en = I don’t
  • the main verb appears in the connegative form (no personal ending)

So:

  • affirmative: (minä) kuulen = I hear
  • negative: en kuule = I don’t hear

In the sentence, etten kuule already contains en inside etten, so the main verb must be kuule (connegative), not kuulen.

Could you also say jotta en kuule instead of etten kuule?

Yes, both can be used for purpose:

  • Pidän oven kiinni, etten kuule... (very natural, compact)
  • Pidän oven kiinni, jotta en kuule... (also correct, a bit more explicit)

Etten is a common shorter alternative.

Why is askeleita in the partitive plural?

Two big reasons push it to partitive here:

1) The clause is negative (en/etten). In Finnish, the object of a negated verb is typically partitive:

  • kuulen askeleet (possible in a specific context)
  • en kuule askeleita (default in negatives)

2) Footsteps are naturally an “indefinite amount” sound—partitive fits that idea well.

So askeleita = “(any) footsteps / footsteps (in general)”.

What case is käytävästä, and why is it used?

Käytävästä is the elative case (-sta/-stä), meaning out of / from inside. With hearing, it often marks the source the sound comes from:

  • askeleita käytävästä = footsteps from the corridor (coming out of/from that area)
Why is it yöllä and what case is that?

Yöllä is the adessive case (-lla/-llä). With times, adessive often means at/during:

  • yöllä = at night / during the night

It’s a standard way to express “at night” in Finnish.

Can the word order change, like moving yöllä earlier?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible and often used to highlight information. For example:

  • Pidän oven kiinni yöllä, etten kuule askeleita käytävästä. (emphasizes “at night”)
  • Pidän yöllä oven kiinni, etten kuule... (also possible; emphasis shifts)

The meaning stays basically the same, but the focus changes.

Why is there a comma before etten?
Because etten kuule... is a subordinate clause. Finnish usually separates subordinate clauses with a comma, especially when the subordinate clause explains purpose/reason/result of the main clause.