Breakdown of Professori työskenteli kirjastossa eilen.
kirjasto
library
eilen
yesterday
työskennellä
to work
professori
the professor
Questions & Answers about Professori työskenteli kirjastossa eilen.
How do we form the past tense työskenteli from the dictionary form työskennellä?
Työskennellä (to work) is a Type 3 verb. To form the past tense, you take the consonant stem (työskentel-) and add the past tense marker -i. Because the subject is a single person (the professor), we would usually look for a "he/she" ending, but in the past tense, the 3rd person singular form takes no extra ending after the -i.
Why does the word have nt in työskenteli when the dictionary form has nn (työskennellä)?
This happens because of consonant gradation. In Type 3 verbs, the dictionary form (infinitive) uses the "weak" consonant grade, which is nn here. But when you conjugate the verb into personal forms like "he worked," the stem switches to the "strong" grade, which is nt.
In the present tense, it is työskentelee (with a double vowel). Why isn't there a double vowel in the past tense työskenteli?
In the present tense, the 3rd person singular ("he/she/it") ending is formed by doubling the last vowel. However, in the past tense, you simply add the past tense -i to the stem. You never double the -i for the "he/she/it" form, so it stays työskenteli, not työskentelii.
Just to review, why is it kirjastossa instead of kirjastoon?