Viikonloppuna kävelen puistossa.

I walk in the park on the weekend.

Breakdown of Viikonloppuna kävelen puistossa.

• puisto: the park
• kävellä: to walk
• -ssa: in
• viikonloppuna: on the weekend

Questions & Answers about Viikonloppuna kävelen puistossa.

What does "Viikonloppuna" mean, and how is it formed?

"Viikonloppuna" comes from the noun "viikonloppu" meaning "weekend." By adding the -na suffix, the noun is turned into an adverbial form that expresses time—translating roughly to "on the weekend." This type of formation is common in Finnish for indicating when something occurs.

Why is the subject pronoun missing in this sentence?

In Finnish, verbs are conjugated with clear person markings. In the sentence, "kävelen" is the first person singular form of "kävellä" ("to walk"), which makes it clear that the subject is "I." Therefore, an explicit subject pronoun isn’t needed unless emphasis is desired.

What case is "puistossa" in, and what does that tell us about its meaning?

"Puistossa" is in the inessive case, which is marked by the -ssa ending. This case denotes being inside or within a place. Consequently, the word means "in the park."

How is the sentence structured, and is Finnish word order similar to English?

The sentence follows a logical order: it starts with a temporal element ("viikonloppuna" = on the weekend), followed by the verb ("kävelen" = I walk), and ends with a locational element ("puistossa" = in the park). Although Finnish word order can be quite flexible, this arrangement clearly indicates when the action takes place and where.

Could you break down the sentence word by word?

Certainly. • "Viikonloppuna" means "on the weekend," with the -na suffix converting "weekend" into an adverbial expression of time. • "Kävelen" is the first person singular present form of "kävellä," meaning "I walk." • "Puistossa" means "in the park," with the -ssa inessive case indicating location. Combined, the sentence translates as "On the weekend, I walk in the park."