Breakdown of Lapset menevät tavallisesti iltapäivällä ulos leikkimään.
lapsi
child
mennä
to go
ulos
out
tavallisesti
usually
iltapäivä
the afternoon
leikkiä
to play (children, with toys)
Questions & Answers about Lapset menevät tavallisesti iltapäivällä ulos leikkimään.
Why does this sentence use leikkimään instead of the basic dictionary form leikkiä for 'to play'?
In Finnish, verbs of motion like mennä (to go) require the next verb to be in the third infinitive illative form. You create this by taking the verb stem (leikki-) and adding -maan or -mään (depending on vowel harmony). So, 'go to play' becomes menevät ... leikkimään.
Why are menevät and leikkimään separated by so many other words?
While English says 'go out to play' right together, Finnish often places adverbs of time (iltapäivällä) and direction (ulos) between the main verb and the third infinitive. The sentence structure generally flows as: Subject (lapset) + main verb (menevät) + how/when (tavallisesti iltapäivällä) + where to (ulos) + what to do (leikkimään).
Why is 'in the afternoon' translated with the -llä ending in iltapäivällä?
To express that something happens during a specific part of the day, Finnish usually uses the adessive ending (-lla or -llä). For example, aamulla (in the morning), päivällä (in the day), and iltapäivällä (in the afternoon).
Why does the sentence use ulos for 'out' instead of ulkona?
Finnish is very strict about direction versus location. Because the children are actively moving from inside to outside (using the verb of motion mennä), you must use the directional word ulos (out / to the outside). If they were already outside playing, you would use the location word ulkona (outside / at the outside).
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