# "Sirkka, olen..." vs. "Olen Sirkka ..." (placement of names)



## Gavril

Terveppä,

I sometimes see sentences like the following:

_Olen Sirkka täysin samaa mieltä._

Here, _Sirkka _is the name of the person being addressed (who has just said something the speaker agrees with); it is not a complement of the verb _olen_.

What is the difference (in emphasis/tone) between a sentence like the above and a sentence like

_Sirkka, olen täysin samaa mieltä._

E.g., does one option sound more casual than the other?

Kiitos


----------



## Grumpy Old Man

Gavril said:


> _Olen Sirkka täysin samaa mieltä._


This looks a little odd in writing but it's common in casual spoken Finnish. If I had to write it, I would set off _Sirkka _with commas: _Olen, Sirkka, täysin samaa mieltä. _This makes it look rather awkward, though.

In writing, _Sirkka, olen samaa mieltä _looks better.


----------



## Gavril

Grumpy Old Man said:


> This looks a little odd in writing but it's common in casual spoken Finnish. If I had to write it, I would set off _Sirkka _with commas: _Olen, Sirkka, täysin samaa mieltä. _This makes it look rather awkward, though.



Every time that I've seen this construction in writing (that I can remember) it has been without commas: _Olet Suvi täysin väärässä_ / _Tuo on Jarmo mitä tyhmintä hölynpölyä_ / etc.


----------



## Spongiformi

Gavril said:


> Every time that I've seen this construction in writing (that I can remember) it has been without commas: _Olet Suvi täysin väärässä_ / _Tuo on Jarmo mitä tyhmintä hölynpölyä_ / etc.



I hope you aren't referring to properly published novels or anything of that sort, but rather stuff you have seen while browsing the bowels of the net. Commas are one of the first sacrifices made when grammar is forgotten, no matter if it's English or Finnish.


----------



## Gavril

Spongiformi said:


> I hope you aren't referring to properly published novels or anything of that sort, but rather stuff you have seen while browsing the bowels of the net. Commas are one of the first sacrifices made when grammar is forgotten, no matter if it's English or Finnish.



Not in published novels, but I have seen this type of comma-less phrase (_Olet Suvi täysin väärässä_) used many times in e.g. message board posts, written by people who otherwise seem to have fairly impeccable spelling and punctuation, or on webpages containing transcribed dialogue.


----------

