Minä katson esitystä teatterissa.

I watch the performance at the theatre.

Breakdown of Minä katson esitystä teatterissa.

• minä: I
• -ssa: in
• katsoa: to watch
• teatteri: the theatre
• esitys: the performance

Questions & Answers about Minä katson esitystä teatterissa.

Why is the subject pronoun Minä included even though Finnish often omits subject pronouns?

In Finnish the verb form already indicates the subject, so the pronoun is not mandatory. However, beginners and for clarity or emphasis, the subject is often included. This explicit use helps learners clearly see who is performing the action.

Why does the verb katson end with -n, and what does that indicate?

The ending -n in katson is the first person singular present tense ending of the verb katsoa. It shows that the subject of the action is I (minä). Even when the subject is mentioned with a pronoun, the verb must still be properly conjugated to match it.

Why is the object esitystä in the partitive case instead of the accusative?

In Finnish, many verbs—especially ones describing ongoing or non-complete actions like katsoa (to watch or to look at)—take their objects in the partitive case. The partitive form esitystä can imply that the action is either in progress or not viewed as a complete, bounded event, which is a nuance of Finnish aspect.

What does teatterissa mean, and why is it written with the ending -ssa?

Teatterissa means "at the theatre". The ending -ssa marks the inessive case in Finnish, which is used to indicate being inside or within a location. This case ending tells us where the action happens.

Is the word order in this sentence fixed, or can it be rearranged in Finnish?

Finnish word order is quite flexible because case endings mark the grammatical roles of words. Although Minä katson esitystä teatterissa follows a straightforward subject–verb–object–place order, you can rearrange the sentence for emphasis or stylistic reasons without losing clarity, as long as the case forms remain unchanged.