Breakdown of Ensin me kävimme kaupassa.
me
we
kauppa
shop
käydä
to visit, to go (and come back)
ensin
first, before anything else
Questions & Answers about Ensin me kävimme kaupassa.
Why is it kaupassa (in the shop) and not kauppaan (into the shop) if we "went to" it?
The verb käydä (to visit, to go and return) always requires the "in" case (inessive, -ssa/-ssä). Even though in English you say "went to the shop", in Finnish you say you visited "in" the shop. If you used the verb mennä (to go), you would use kauppaan.
How is the past tense kävimme formed from the verb käydä?
The dictionary form is käydä. To make it past tense, the stem käy- changes to kävi-. Then you add the personal ending for "we", which is -mme, resulting in kävimme.
Why is the word for "first" ensin instead of ensimmäinen?
Ensin is an adverb used to describe the order of events, meaning "firstly" or "first of all" (like "first we did this, then we did that"). Ensimmäinen is an adjective used to describe nouns, such as "the first shop" (ensimmäinen kauppa).
Do I have to include the pronoun me here?
No, you could just say Ensin kävimme kaupassa. The verb ending -mme already tells us the subject is "we". Adding me is optional and just makes it sound a bit more natural or slightly emphasized in spoken language.
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