sanajärjestys

Sanajärjestys, or word order, describes how the parts of a sentence are arranged in Finnish. Finnish relies heavily on inflection, so grammatical relations such as subject, object and adverbial phrases are signaled by endings rather than fixed positions. This makes the word order relatively flexible compared to languages with strict syntax rules.

The neutral main-clause order is typically subject–verb–object (SVO), with the finite verb occupying the second position (the verb-second, or V2, rule). For example: Matti lukee kirjaa. Here Matti is the subject in the nominative, lukee is the finite verb, and kirjaa is the object in partitive. In everyday speech the order can vary to emphasize a part of the sentence or to present a topic first.

Focus and topic contribute to alternative orders. The first position is often used for a topic or focus element, which can produce orders such as Kirjaa lukee Matti, meaning “The book, Matti reads,” or Kirjaa lukee Matti, with slight differences in emphasis. Finnish also allows object-fronting for contrast or emphasis.

Questions are formed with relatively small changes. Yes–no questions can be produced by adding the question clitic -ko/-kö to the verb or by rising intonation, e.g., Lukeekö Matti kirjaa? Wh- questions use interrogatives like kuka, mitä, miksi, and usually retain clear verb placement while the question word provides the information being asked.

In subordinate clauses, word order is more flexible, and information structure often guides placement of constituents. Overall, sanajärjestys interacts with rich morphology to convey meaning with a range of natural, acceptable patterns.