Minä haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään.

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Breakdown of Minä haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään.

• mennä: to go
• puisto: the park
• tänään: today

Questions & Answers about Minä haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään.

Why is haluaisin used here instead of haluan?

Finnish has a conditional mood that’s formed by adding -isi- to the verb, as in haluaisin (I would like). This form expresses a polite wish or request. In contrast, haluan (I want) is the indicative present tense, which can sound a bit more direct.

Why is the infinitive form mennä used in this sentence, and not something like menen?

When you have two verbs in a row in Finnish (for example, haluaisin + mennä), the second verb is typically in the basic infinitive form. Menen would be a finite form (I go/I am going), which doesn’t fit directly after haluaisin in this context.

What does the -oon ending in puistoon mean?

In Finnish, the illative case (often marked with -oon, -an, or -en depending on the word) indicates movement into or onto something. Puistoon literally means “(going) into the park.”

Can I leave out Minä and just say Haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään?

Yes! Finnish is a pro-drop language, meaning the subject pronoun can be omitted because the verb conjugation already indicates who is speaking. Both Minä haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään and Haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään are correct.

Does the word order Minä haluaisin mennä puistoon tänään have to be in this exact sequence?

No. Although this order is quite natural, you can move tänään around. For example, Minä haluaisin tänään mennä puistoon is also fine. However, placing tänään at the very start (Tänään minä haluaisin mennä puistoon) emphasizes “today.” The main verb and its object should remain in a logical pairing (e.g. mennä puistoon).