Kerro minulle totuus.

Tell me the truth.

Breakdown of Kerro minulle totuus.

• minä: I
• kertoa: to tell
• totuus: the truth

Questions & Answers about Kerro minulle totuus.

What form is kerro, and what verb does it come from?

Kerro is the second-person singular imperative of kertoa. In plain terms, it is the form you use when telling one person to do something.

So:

• kertoa = to tell
• kerro! = tell!

In this sentence, kerro means tell as a command or strong request.

Why is there no separate word for you in the sentence?

Finnish usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person. With imperatives, this is especially normal.

So Kerro minulle totuus already means Tell me the truth without needing sinä.

If you added sinä, it would sound marked or emphatic rather than neutral.

Why is it minulle and not minä, minun, or minut?

Because minulle means to me, and that is the role needed here.

With kertoa, Finnish commonly uses this pattern:

kertoa jollekin jotain
= to tell someone something

So:

• minä = I
• minun = my / of me
• minut = me as an object in some contexts
• minulle = to me

Here, minulle marks the recipient of what is being told.