Breakdown of Molemmilla oli kramppi, mutta heidän olisi silti pitänyt jatkaa.
olla
to be
mutta
but
he
they
silti
anyway / nevertheless
jatkaa
to continue (something)
pitää
must / have to
molemmat
both (of them)
kramppi
the cramp
Questions & Answers about Molemmilla oli kramppi, mutta heidän olisi silti pitänyt jatkaa.
Why does silti go between olisi and pitänyt instead of at the beginning of the clause?
Adverbial connectors like silti (nevertheless/still) often sit right after the first part of a compound verb. Here, it splits the conditional perfect olisi pitänyt (should have). You could also put it at the beginning of its clause (mutta silti heidän...), but tucking it inside the verb chain is very natural in Finnish.
Could I use kuitenkin instead of silti here?
Yes, kuitenkin (however/anyway) would work perfectly here and mean almost exactly the same thing. Silti emphasizes "despite that" or "nevertheless" a bit more strongly, tying directly back to the cramp mentioned in the first half of the sentence.
Why is it heidän (their) instead of he (they)?
This is the necessity structure using the verb pitää. To say someone has to or should do something, the person doing it must be in the genitive case (heidän). Here, the verb is in the conditional past (olisi pitänyt), meaning "should have," but the rule for the genitive subject stays exactly the same.
Why is "Both had a cramp" translated as Molemmilla oli instead of using a word like "Molemmat"?
Finnish doesn't have a direct verb for "to have." Instead, you use the adessive case (-lla/-llä, meaning "on") plus the verb olla (to be). So literally, this is "On both was a cramp." The word molemmat (both) becomes molemmilla in the adessive plural.
Learn Molemmilla oli kramppi, mutta heidän olisi silti pitänyt jatkaa and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free