Breakdown of Kokous jatkui iltaan asti.
ilta
evening
kokous
meeting (formal)
jatkua
to continue
asti
until / up to (postposition)
Questions & Answers about Kokous jatkui iltaan asti.
Why is iltaan in the illative case here?
The postposition asti (until) requires the word before it to be in a directional case. When talking about a limit you are moving towards in time or space, you use the illative case (the "into" case), so the basic form ilta becomes iltaan.
Could I use saakka instead of asti in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! Kokous jatkui iltaan saakka means exactly the same thing. Asti and saakka are completely interchangeable when talking about limits in time or space.
How would the meaning change if I used mennessä instead of asti?
Iltaan mennessä means "by the evening" to indicate a deadline, whereas iltaan asti means "until the evening" to indicate a continuous duration. Because the verb jatkua (to continue) describes an ongoing action rather than a task being completed, iltaan asti is the natural choice here.
Why is the verb jatkui rather than jatkoi?
English uses "continue" for both, but Finnish distinguishes between them. Jatkua (used here as the past tense jatkui) means something continues on its own, like a meeting or a storm. Jatkaa (past tense jatkoi) means a person continues doing something, like "Hän jatkoi kokousta" (He continued the meeting).
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