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Questions & Answers about Eilen menin kauppaan.
What does eilen mean in this sentence?
Eilen means “yesterday.” It’s a time adverb indicating when the action occurred.
What form is menin, and from which verb is it derived?
Menin is the first person singular past tense form of the verb mennä, which means “to go.” The ending -in marks it as the simple past (or imperfect) for “I went.”
Why is there no explicit subject (like minä) in the sentence?
Finnish is a pro-drop language, so the subject pronoun is often omitted when the verb conjugation clearly shows who is performing the action. In menin, the suffix -in already reveals that the subject is “I.”
What case is kauppaan in, and why is that case used here?
Kauppaan is in the illative case, which is used to express motion into or toward a place. In this context, it translates as “to the store,” showing the destination of the movement.
Can the word order in such Finnish sentences vary, and what role does each element play?
Yes, Finnish word order can be flexible. In Eilen menin kauppaan, the structure follows a time–verb–place order, which is common. However, rearranging the elements (for example, Kauppaan menin eilen) is also grammatically correct and can be used to emphasize a different piece of information.
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