Breakdown of Minä työskentelin yliopistossa syksyllä.
minä
I
syksy
autumn
työskennellä
to work
yliopisto
the university
Questions & Answers about Minä työskentelin yliopistossa syksyllä.
The lesson says to form the past tense of Type 3 verbs by adding -i- to the consonant stem. Why isn't the verb "työskennelin" here?
Because työskennellä has a consonant change (nn to nt). While simple Type 3 verbs like tulla add -i- straight to the consonant stem (tul- -> tulin), Type 3 verbs with consonant changes build their past tense from the strong present tense stem (työskentele-). You drop the final -e and add -i-, resulting in työskentelin.
Why do we use the -ssa ending for "at the university" (yliopistossa) instead of -lla?
In Finnish, you typically use the inessive case (-ssa/-ssä, meaning "in") for buildings, schools, and institutions because you are physically enclosed inside them. English uses "at", but Finnish logically treats it as "in the university".
Why does "in the autumn" translate to syksyllä with the -llä ending?
Seasons in Finnish (like syksy, autumn, and kesä, summer) use the adessive case (-lla/-llä) to express when something happens. This is an important exception to remember, because months use the -ssa/-ssä ending instead (for example, tammikuussa means "in January").
Can I leave out Minä and just say ?