# I'll read a book



## osemnais

About every site I have visited so far says that I'll read a book translates as
Minä luen kirjan.
However, another site claims that the right translation is
Minä aion lukea kirjan.
Which one is correct?


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## MaijaPoppanen

The correct translation is "_Minä luen kirjan_".

_Minä aion lukea kirjan_ = I'm going to read a book


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## kloie

So there is no real future tense in Finnish? Because luen = I read.


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## osemnais

MaijaPoppanen said:


> The correct translation is "_Minä luen kirjan_".
> 
> _Minä aion lukea kirjan_ = I'm going to read a book


Is the dfference in meaning same as in English?


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## Hakro

osemnais said:


> Is the difference in meaning same as in English?


Not exactly.
"Minä luen kirjan" can mean either "I read a/the book" or "I'll read a/the book".

"Minä aion lukea kirjan" can be translated either:
- I'll read a/the book
or
- I'm going to read a/the book
or
I have an intension to read a/the book.

 This sure is confusing but so is our Finnish language. Sorry.


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## pearho

Given that Finnish has the partitive/accusative distinction, it is in practice difficult for "luen kirjan" to be interpreted as "I read a book", let alone "I'm reading a book"; if the reading is ongoing one has to use the partitive: "luen kirjaa", possibly combined with the progressive: "olen lukemassa kirjaa".

 I'm not a native Finnish speaker, but the only context I can think of where "luen kirjan" can be translated into "I read a book" is when you have a habit of repeatedly reading an entire book, answering the question "mitä teet joka päivä/viikko/vuosi?" , "what do you do every day/week/year?".

Real ambiguity, however, arises when the sentence lacks an object, or when the other rules for using the partitive make the use of the accusative impossible even when referring to the future, as in negative sentences: "en lue kirjaa", which can mean "I do not read the/a book", "I am not reading the/a book", and "I will not read the/a book".


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