Breakdown of Meidän pitää käydä lähetystössä, ennen kuin matkustamme.
me
we
matkustaa
to travel
käydä
to visit, to go (and come back)
pitää
must / have to
ennen kuin
before (conjunction)
lähetystö
embassy
Questions & Answers about Meidän pitää käydä lähetystössä, ennen kuin matkustamme.
Why is lähetystössä in the inessive (in) case instead of the illative (into) case?
This is because of the verb käydä (to visit). Even though you are moving to a place, käydä requires a static local case, answering the question 'where?' (missä or millä). Since you visit the inside of an embassy, we use the inessive ending -ssa/-ssä.
Why does the sentence start with Meidän instead of Me?
The verb pitää meaning 'to have to' or 'must' forms a necessive structure. This structure requires the logical subject to be in the genitive case (meidän) and the verb to always remain in the 3rd person singular (pitää), rather than matching the subject.
Why do we use ennen kuin instead of just ennen for 'before'?
You use ennen kuin when 'before' is followed by a clause with a conjugated verb, like matkustamme (we travel). If you were just saying 'before the trip' using a noun, you would use ennen followed by the partitive case (ennen matkaa).
What is the base word for lähetystössä and how is it formed?
The base word is lähetystö (embassy). It is derived from the verb lähettää (to send), combined with a suffix that indicates a group or collective, literally meaning a delegation of sent people.
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