Minä menen kahvilaan ystävän kanssa.

I go to the café with a friend.

Breakdown of Minä menen kahvilaan ystävän kanssa.

• minä: I
• ystävä: the friend
• mennä: to go
• kanssa: with
• kahvila: the café

Questions & Answers about Minä menen kahvilaan ystävän kanssa.

Why is the subject pronoun Minä explicitly included in the sentence?

While Finnish often allows the subject pronoun to be dropped because the verb ending (menen) already indicates the subject, including Minä can add clarity—especially for learners. It emphasizes that it is I who is performing the action, which is useful when you’re still getting accustomed to the language’s structure.

What case is used in kahvilaan, and why is it employed here?

The word kahvilaan is in the illative case. In Finnish, the illative case is used to express movement into or toward a place. Here, it indicates that the action of going (from menen) is directed toward the café.

Why is ystävä transformed into ystävän in the phrase ystävän kanssa?

In Finnish, when indicating accompaniment with kanssa (meaning "with"), the noun is typically put into the genitive form. Thus, ystävä becomes ystävän to indicate "with a friend." This form marks the noun as the companion in the activity, following a common idiomatic usage.

How is the verb menen constructed, and what does its form tell us about the subject of the sentence?

Menen is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb mennä ("to go"). This conjugation tells us that the speaker, referred to by Minä, is the one performing the action. The verb’s ending already includes the subject information, which is why native speakers might sometimes choose to omit Minä in everyday conversation.

Can the word order in this sentence be changed, and what does this reveal about Finnish syntax?

Yes, Finnish syntax is quite flexible because of its rich case system. Although the typical order is subject–verb–adverbial (or destination/companion), variations are possible for emphasis or stylistic reasons. However, keeping elements like kahvilaan (indicating direction) and ystävän kanssa (indicating accompaniment) together helps maintain clarity in conveying the intended meaning.