Breakdown of Satuin näkemään hänet kadulla.
hän
he / she
katu
street
nähdä
to see
sattua
to happen (by chance)
Questions & Answers about Satuin näkemään hänet kadulla.
Why is the verb 'to see' in the näkemään form rather than its basic dictionary form?
The verb sattua (to happen to) requires the verb that follows it to be in the third infinitive illative form, often called the -maan/-mään form. While older grammatical rules sometimes paired sattua with the first infinitive (satuin nähdä), modern Finnish almost exclusively prefers the näkemään form shown here.
Wait, doesn't sattua usually mean 'to hurt'?
Yes, sattua is a very versatile verb! When used alone, it often means 'to hurt' (e.g., Se sattuu - It hurts). However, when paired with another verb as it is here, the meaning shifts entirely to 'to happen to do something' by chance or coincidence.
Why is the pronoun hän in the hänet form instead of häntä?
The verb action was successfully completed: you saw him. This means it requires a total object. For personal pronouns, the total object (accusative) form uses the -t suffix, resulting in hänet. If you were in the middle of looking at him, you would use the partitive häntä instead.
Why is 'on the street' translated using the -lla ending in kadulla?