Minä söin aamupalaa tänään, koska olin nälkäinen.

I ate breakfast today because I was hungry.

Breakdown of Minä söin aamupalaa tänään, koska olin nälkäinen.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• syödä: to eat
• tänään: today
• koska: because
• aamupala: the breakfast
• nälkäinen: hungry

Questions & Answers about Minä söin aamupalaa tänään, koska olin nälkäinen.

Why is the pronoun Minä included even though verb conjugation indicates the subject?

While Finnish verbs are conjugated to show the subject, Minä (meaning “I”) is often used for clarity or emphasis—especially by learners—to explicitly state who is performing the action.

What does the verb söin mean and which tense is it in?

Söin is the simple past (imperfect) form of the verb syödä (to eat), and it translates as “ate.” This form is used to describe a completed action in the past.

Why is aamupalaa in the partitive case, and what does that imply?

Aamupalaa is the partitive form of aamupala (breakfast). In Finnish, the partitive case is often used when referring to food being eaten or when the object is viewed as not completely finished, which fits natural expressions about meals.

What is the function of tänään in the sentence?

Tänään means “today” and serves as an adverbial indicating when the action took place. Its placement after the object is perfectly acceptable in Finnish due to the language’s flexible word order.

How does koska work to connect the two parts of the sentence?

Koska means “because” and introduces the subordinate clause koska olin nälkäinen (“because I was hungry”). A comma is placed before koska to clearly separate the main clause from this explanatory subordinate clause.