Tänä iltana haluan mennä teatteriin katsomaan uutta näytelmää.

This evening, I want to go to the theatre to watch a new play.

Breakdown of Tänä iltana haluan mennä teatteriin katsomaan uutta näytelmää.

• tämä: this
• uusi: new
• mennä: to go
• haluta: to want
• ilta: the evening
• katsoa: to watch
• teatteri: the theatre
• näytelmä: the play

Questions & Answers about Tänä iltana haluan mennä teatteriin katsomaan uutta näytelmää.

What does “Tänä iltana” mean, and what is its grammatical role in the sentence?

“Tänä iltana” translates to “tonight” or “this evening.” It serves as a temporal adverbial phrase that tells us when the action is taking place. The form “tänä” is a demonstrative adjective variant used in time expressions, while “iltana” comes from “ilta” (evening) with an adverbial ending.

Why is “haluan” used without an explicit subject like “minä”?

“Haluan” means “I want” and is the first-person singular form of the verb haluta (to want). In Finnish, the subject is indicated by the verb ending, so the pronoun “minä” (I) is usually omitted because it is clearly implied by “haluan.”

Why does the verb “mennä” appear in its basic (infinitive) form after “haluan”?

In Finnish, when expressing desire or intention with verbs like haluta, the subsequent verb appears in its basic (infinitive) form. Thus, “haluan mennä” means “I want to go,” with “mennä” remaining uninflected because the modal verb already marks the subject and tense.

What case is “teatteriin” in and what function does it serve?

“Teatteriin” is in the illative case, which is used to indicate direction or movement toward a place. In the sentence, it shows the destination – that the speaker intends to go “to the theater.”

How does the purpose clause “katsomaan uutta näytelmää” work, particularly the forms “katsomaan” and “uutta näytelmää”?

“Katsomaan” is an infinitive form of the verb katsoa (to watch) modified with the ending -maan, which is used to express purpose—especially following a motion verb like “mennä.” This construction indicates that the speaker’s goal in going is “to watch.” Meanwhile, “uutta näytelmää” is in the partitive case. In Finnish, objects of certain verbs, particularly those dealing with perception or actions viewed as incomplete, often appear in the partitive. Here, it conveys the idea of watching “a new play” in an indefinite or ongoing sense.