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Korjaan lukon tänään, jotta pääsemme sisään.

Korjaan lukon tänään, jotta pääsemme sisään.
I will fix the lock today so that we can get inside.
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Questions & Answers about Korjaan lukon tänään, jotta pääsemme sisään.

Why is lukko in the form lukon here?

Because lukko is the direct object of korjaan (I fix). In Finnish, a total/complete object often takes the genitive -n in the singular.

  • Korjaan lukon = I’ll fix the lock (as a complete task / the whole lock).
    If you meant an incomplete/ongoing action (or “some fixing”), you might see the partitive:
  • Korjaan lukkoa = I’m fixing the lock (process not presented as completed).
Is korjaan present tense or future tense? How can it mean today?

Korjaan is formally present tense (1st person singular of korjata). Finnish often uses the present tense to talk about near-future plans, especially with a time word:

  • Korjaan … tänään = I’ll fix … today / I’m fixing … today (depending on context).
    So the “future” meaning is usually inferred from context, not from a special future tense.
What is the role of tänään, and where can it go in the sentence?

Tänään means today and acts as a time adverb. It’s flexible in position:

  • Korjaan lukon tänään, jotta … (neutral)
  • Tänään korjaan lukon, jotta … (emphasizes today)
  • Korjaan tänään lukon, jotta … (also possible; slight emphasis shift)
Why does the sentence use jotta? What does it require grammatically?

Jotta introduces a purpose/result clause: so that / in order that. After jotta, Finnish uses a finite verb (a normal conjugated verb), not an infinitive:

  • … jotta pääsemme sisään = … so that we can get inside.
    So jotta + finite verb is the key pattern.
Why is it pääsemme and not päästä / päästäksemme / pääsemään?

Because jotta typically takes a finite clause with a conjugated verb:

  • jotta pääsemme (we can / so that we get)
    Other forms belong to different structures:
  • päästäksemme = in order for us to get (a different “in order to” construction, more formal)
  • pääsemään = “to get to (doing something)” / movement toward an action, not used with jotta in this meaning
  • päästä = infinitive, not the standard complement of jotta
What does pääsemme come from, and what does it literally mean?

It comes from the verb päästä (roughly to get in / to be able to enter / to get to depending on context).
pääsemme is 1st person plural (“we”) in the present tense: we get / we can get.
In this sentence it means we can get inside.

Why is sisään used instead of sisälle or sisällä?

These are different “inside” forms with different roles:

  • sisään = (to) in / into (direction, often emphasizing crossing the threshold)
  • sisälle = to the inside (also directional; often similar, sometimes feels a bit more like “to inside (somewhere)” as a location)
  • sisällä = inside (static location: “(while) inside”)
    With päästä meaning “to get in,” sisään is the most common choice.
Is the comma before jotta mandatory?

In standard written Finnish, yes: you normally put a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by jotta:

  • Korjaan lukon tänään, jotta pääsemme sisään.
    In casual texting, people may omit commas, but in correct writing it’s expected.
Could I say Korjaan lukon tänään, että pääsemme sisään instead?

Not in standard Finnish for this meaning. että usually corresponds to that (introducing content clauses), while jotta is used for so that / in order that purpose clauses.
So for purpose, jotta is the natural/standard conjunction here.

Why is there no pronoun like minä (I) or me (we) in the sentence?

Finnish verb endings already show the person/number:

  • korjaan = I fix
  • pääsemme = we get / can get
    So pronouns are optional and usually only added for emphasis or contrast:
  • Minä korjaan lukon tänään… (emphasizes “I (not someone else)”)
  • … jotta me pääsemme sisään. (emphasizes “we”)