Breakdown of Miksi te olitte poissa kokouksesta?
olla
to be
te
you (plural/formal)
miksi
why
kokous
meeting (formal)
Questions & Answers about Miksi te olitte poissa kokouksesta?
Why is the verb olitte instead of olit?
Olitte is the past tense for te (you, plural or formal). If you were asking just one person informally, you would use sinä and the verb form olit (Miksi sinä olit...).
How do we get kokouksesta from the basic dictionary word kokous (meeting)?
Finnish words that end in -us change their ending to -ukse- before you attach any other pieces. Here, kokous becomes the stem kokoukse-, and then we add the 'from' ending -sta.
Why does kokouksesta use the -sta ending here?
The -sta ending means 'out of' or 'from inside'. In Finnish grammar, you are considered to be 'inside' an event like a meeting. So when you are absent from it, you use this 'from inside' ending.
What is the difference between poissa and pois?
Both mean 'away', but poissa specifically describes a state of being away or absent from a place you are expected to be (like a meeting or work). Pois implies movement away, like telling a dog to go away.