Katsoimme eilen kiinnostavan elokuvan ystävien kanssa.

We watched an interesting movie yesterday with friends.

Breakdown of Katsoimme eilen kiinnostavan elokuvan ystävien kanssa.

• ystävä: the friend
• me: we
• kanssa: with
• eilen: yesterday
• katsoa: to watch
• kiinnostava: interesting
• elokuva: the movie

Questions & Answers about Katsoimme eilen kiinnostavan elokuvan ystävien kanssa.

What does katsoimme mean in this sentence?

Katsoimme is the first-person plural simple past form of the verb katsoa, meaning "we watched". Its conjugation also makes it clear that the subject (we) is present, even though it isn’t explicitly stated.

Why is the subject omitted here?

Finnish is a pro-drop language, meaning that the verb’s inflection carries enough information about the subject. In this case, katsoimme tells us that we performed the action, so using an explicit subject isn’t necessary.

What role does eilen play in the sentence?

Eilen functions as an adverb indicating time. It translates to "yesterday" and tells us when the action took place.

How do the adjective kiinnostavan and the noun elokuvan agree with each other?

Both the adjective kiinnostavan and the noun elokuvan are in the same case (the accusative) and number (singular). In Finnish, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in case and number, so the adjective takes the required ending to match elokuvan.

Why is elokuvan used in the accusative form instead of a partitive form like elokuvaa?

Finnish chooses the accusative for objects that are seen as whole, definite entities when a complete action is described. Here, elokuvan (rather than elokuvaa) is used because the movie is treated as a complete, single event that was watched in its entirety.

What does ystävien kanssa mean, and why is it in this particular form?

Ystävien kanssa means "with friends". The noun ystävät is transformed into ystävien, which is its plural genitive form. This form is typically used with the postposition kanssa (meaning "with") to indicate accompaniment.

Is the word order in this sentence typical for Finnish?

Yes, it is quite typical. Although Finnish word order is flexible, the sentence clearly conveys its meaning through verb conjugation and case markings. The time adverb (eilen) and the accompanying phrase (ystävien kanssa) are placed in positions that are natural in Finnish, even with the subject being omitted.