Olimme vähällä kompastua ja jäädä ansaan.

Olimme is the imperfect past tense of olla (to be) in the 1st person plural:

• olen = I am
• olemme = we are
• olin = I was
• olimme = we were

In this sentence, it is part of the fixed expression olla vähällä + infinitive, which means to almost do something.

So olimme vähällä kompastua means we almost stumbled.

Here vähällä is part of the idiomatic expression olla vähällä + infinitive, which means:

• to be on the verge of
• to nearly
• to almost

So:

• olin vähällä kaatua = I almost fell
• olimme vähällä kompastua = we almost stumbled

It is best to learn olla vähällä as a whole expression rather than trying to translate vähällä word-for-word.

They are in the basic infinitive form (the so-called 1st infinitive):

• kompastua = to stumble / to trip
• jäädä = to remain / to get stuck / to be left / to end up

After olla vähällä, Finnish uses this infinitive:

• olin vähällä nauraa = I almost laughed
• hän oli vähällä pudota = he/she almost fell
• olimme vähällä kompastua = we almost stumbled

So the structure is:

olla + vähällä + infinitive

Because Finnish infinitives do not need a separate word like English to.

In English:

• to stumble
• to stay
• to fall

In Finnish, the infinitive itself already has that meaning:

• kompastua
• jäädä
• kaatua

So kompastua already means to stumble, not just stumble.

Because one olla vähällä can govern both infinitives when they are linked with ja (and).

So:

• olimme vähällä kompastua ja jäädä ansaan

means roughly:

• we almost stumbled and got trapped
• or more carefully: we were close to stumbling and getting trapped

The almost idea applies to the whole coordinated action.

If needed, Finnish could repeat the structure, but it is usually unnecessary here.

Normally it means we almost stumbled and almost got trapped.

The expression olimme vähällä applies to both infinitives:

• kompastua
• jäädä ansaan

So the natural interpretation is that both things nearly happened.

If the speaker wanted to say we almost stumbled, and then we got trapped, Finnish would usually be phrased differently to make that clear.

Jäädä ansaan means to get trapped or to end up in a trap.

Literally:

• jäädä = to remain / to get left / to end up
• ansa = trap
• ansaan = into a trap

As a whole:

• jäädä ansaan = to be caught in a trap / to get trapped

This is a very common Finnish way of expressing the idea.

Because jäädä ansaan requires the illative case, which often expresses movement into something.

• ansa = a trap
• ansaan = into a trap

This fits the meaning of ending up in or getting into a trap.

Compare:

• mennä taloon = go into the house
• joutua vaikeuksiin = get into difficulties
• jäädä ansaan = get trapped / get into a trap

So ansaan is not random: it shows the direction into the trap.

Because Finnish usually does not include subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

The verb ending already tells you the subject:

• olimme = we were

So me is unnecessary here.

You could say me olimme, but that would sound more emphatic, like:

• we were the ones who almost stumbled

In ordinary Finnish, just olimme is enough.

The sentence is in the past because of olimme.

So the event is presented as something that almost happened in the past:

• olemme vähällä kompastua = we are almost stumbling / we are about to stumble
• olimme vähällä kompastua = we almost stumbled

Even though kompastua and jäädä are infinitives, the time reference comes from olimme.

It can be translated as either stumble or trip, depending on context.

Common shades of meaning:

• kompastua = to trip, to stumble
• often because your foot catches on something or you lose balance

So in this sentence, both are reasonable:

• We almost stumbled and got trapped
• We almost tripped and got trapped

Stumble is often the safest general translation.

Yes, Finnish word order is fairly flexible, though the given sentence is very natural.

Standard version:

• Olimme vähällä kompastua ja jäädä ansaan.

You might also see different word orders for emphasis, but the normal neutral order is the best one to learn first.

The important structural core is:

• olimme vähällä
  • kompastua ja jäädä ansaan

That is the pattern to remember.

Yes, definitely. Olla vähällä + infinitive is a very useful everyday pattern.

Examples:

• Olin vähällä myöhästyä. = I almost was late.
• Hän oli vähällä kaatua. = He/She almost fell.
• Olimme vähällä eksyä. = We almost got lost.
• He olivat vähällä unohtaa avaimet. = They almost forgot the keys.

So this sentence is a good model for a broader pattern:

[person/verb of olla] + vähällä + infinitive

meaning:

almost do something