Word
Ne erosi eilen.
Meaning
They broke up yesterday.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ne erosi eilen.
ne
they / those (non-human) / they (of people)
eilen
yesterday
erota
to break up
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Questions & Answers about Ne erosi eilen.
Why does this sentence use ne instead of he for "they"?
In spoken Finnish, it is extremely common to use se (it) for "he/she" and ne (those) for "they" when talking about people.
If ne is plural, why is the verb erosi instead of erosivat?
This is a major rule in spoken Finnish: when you use ne for people, the verb always takes the third-person singular form. So instead of the standard written Finnish he erosivat, you drop the plural ending and just use ne erosi.
What is the dictionary form of erosi and why does it end in -si?
The dictionary form is erota (to separate, break up, or resign), which is a Type 4 verb. In the past tense, the -ta ending of Type 4 verbs changes to -si for the third-person singular, resulting in erosi.
Could Ne erosi eilen mean something else besides a romantic breakup?
Yes. Because erota also means "to resign" or "to quit a job", this exact sentence could also mean "They resigned yesterday" if you were talking about colleagues instead of a couple.