Breakdown of Sen sijaan että hän menisi lääkäriin, hän lievittää kipua kotona.
hän
he / she
kotona
at home
lääkäri
doctor
mennä
to go
kipu
pain
lievittää
to relieve
sen sijaan että
instead of
Questions & Answers about Sen sijaan että hän menisi lääkäriin, hän lievittää kipua kotona.
Why is the verb menisi in the conditional mood here?
The phrase sen sijaan että (instead of) sets up a hypothetical situation: something that is not actually happening. Because of this, the verb in the että clause must be in the conditional mood (using the -isi- marker). You are literally saying "Instead of the fact that she would go..."
English uses the -ing word "going". Why does Finnish use että hän menisi?
While English can just stick an -ing verb after "instead of", Finnish requires a full mini-sentence (a clause). Sen sijaan että literally means "instead of the fact that". Therefore, you must follow it with a subject and a conjugated verb, which is why we use hän menisi.
Why do we use the "into" case for lääkäriin rather than saying lääkärille?
When talking about visiting a professional for their services (like a doctor, dentist, or hairdresser), Finnish typically uses the illative or "into" case. Saying mennä lääkäriin implies going into the doctor's care or practice. Using lääkärille would sound like you are just walking over to the doctor as a physical person.
Why is the word for pain, kipua, in the partitive case?
The verb lievittää (to relieve or alleviate) expresses an action that doesn't completely finish the object. Because she is in the process of easing the pain, rather than wiping it out entirely in one neat, finished action, it is treated as an ongoing process and takes the partitive ending -a.
Learn Sen sijaan että hän menisi lääkäriin, hän lievittää kipua kotona 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