Log inSign up

Vaellamme mieluummin metsässä kuin treenaamme kuntosalilla.

Vaellamme mieluummin metsässä kuin treenaamme kuntosalilla.
We would rather hike in the forest than work out at the gym.
From Lesson 490:Expressing preference (mieluummin ... kuin)·Finnish

Questions & Answers about Vaellamme mieluummin metsässä kuin treenaamme kuntosalilla.

Do both verbs in this sentence have to be conjugated in the same person?
Yes. When you use mieluummin ... kuin to compare two actions you are performing, both verbs must match in tense and person. Here, both vaellamme (we hike) and treenaamme (we work out) are in the first-person plural. You cannot leave the second verb in its infinitive form.
Could I express this same idea using the verb pitää (to like)?
You could, but it requires much heavier grammar. With pitää, you would need to turn both verbs into -minen nouns in the elative case: Pidämme enemmän metsässä vaeltamisesta kuin kuntosalilla treenaamisesta. Using mieluummin with standard conjugated verbs is a much more natural and efficient way to express a preference between actions.
Can I put mieluummin at the very beginning of the sentence?
Usually, mieluummin acts as an adverb modifying the first verb, so it sits right after it (vaellamme mieluummin). Putting it at the very beginning of the sentence is grammatically possible but changes the tone; it sounds defensive, like you are emphatically correcting someone who just suggested the gym.
Why is there a double 'l' in vaellamme when the dictionary form is vaeltaa?
The verb vaeltaa (to hike) is a Type 1 verb that undergoes consonant gradation. When adding the -mme ending, the syllable becomes closed, which forces the strong lt consonant cluster to weaken into ll. Therefore, vaeltaa becomes vaellamme.
Why is the forest in the inessive case (metsässä) while the gym is in the adessive case (kuntosalilla)?
In Finnish, you are usually 'inside' of nature, so metsä takes the inessive 'in' case (-ssä). However, many public places, stations, and specialized facilities take the adessive 'at/on' case (-lla/-llä). A gym (kuntosali) is treated as an establishment you are 'at', so it takes kuntosalilla.

Learn Vaellamme mieluummin metsässä kuin treenaamme kuntosalilla 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
Start learning Finnish →