Finnish Needs the Connectives, Not Just the Tenses
You can now build four past forms. That is not yet a story. A story needs words that say which event came first, and Finnish keeps those in a small, fixed set.
| word | what it does |
|---|
| ensin | first, before anything else |
| aluksi | at first — and the implication is that things later changed |
| sitten | then, next |
| sen jälkeen | after that |
| silloin | back then, at that time |
| kunnes | until |
Ensin and Aluksi Are Not the Same
Ensin orders two events: this one, then that one. Aluksi sets up a contrast with how things turned out — at first it was hard, and you expect the sentence to continue.
Silloin Looks Back
Sitten points forward from the moment you are describing. Silloin points back to a time already named — back then. They are not interchangeable, and mixing them is one of the commonest learner errors.
Kunnes Takes a Clause
Kunnes is a conjunction, not an adverb, so a whole clause follows it. Note the comma: Finnish puts one before every subordinating conjunction, without exception.
Viime Is a Word, Not an Ending
Viime never changes shape. It sits in front of a time word that carries the case ending itself: viime viikolla (last week), viime vuonna (last year). You cannot say viimellä — the ending goes on the noun.
And Three More
Pian is soon, taas is again, and yhä is still — the one that says a situation has not stopped yet.
