Kahvi loppui kesken.

The coffee ran out.

Breakdown of Kahvi loppui kesken.

• kahvi: the coffee
• loppua kesken: to run out

Questions & Answers about Kahvi loppui kesken.

What does kesken add here? Why not just say Kahvi loppui?

Kesken literally means “in the middle; unfinished.” With loppua, the fixed expression loppua kesken means “to run out before something was finished” or “to be insufficient for what you were doing.” It adds the nuance that the supply ended prematurely.

• Kahvi loppui. = The coffee ran out. (neutral statement of fact)
• Kahvi loppui kesken (palaverin). = The coffee ran out in the middle (of the meeting), i.e., before the meeting ended / before we were done.

Is kesken a postposition? Where’s its complement in this sentence?

Yes, kesken is a postposition that normally takes a genitive complement: kesken + GEN.

• kesken palaverin = in the middle of the meeting
• kesken työn = in the middle of the work/task

In Kahvi loppui kesken, kesken is used adverbially on its own (no complement) as part of the idiom loppua kesken, meaning “to run out before completion.” You can add a complement if you want to specify what was interrupted:

• Kahvi loppui kesken palaverin.

What’s the difference between kesken and keskellä?

Both can mean “in the middle of,” but they behave differently and have different nuances.

• kesken + GEN emphasizes interruption/unfinishedness:
  
  • Kahvi loppui kesken palaverin. = It ran out before the meeting finished.
• keskellä + PART is more neutral, often spatial/temporal “in the middle of”:
  
  • Kahvi loppui keskellä palaveria. = It ran out during the meeting (no special focus on interruption).

Both are grammatical here; kesken highlights that it happened too soon.

Why is kahvi in the nominative (not kahvia)? Could I say Kahvia loppui kesken?

Here, kahvi is the grammatical subject of the intransitive verb loppua (“to end, run out”). For a completed event, the normal, neutral form is nominative: Kahvi loppui (kesken).

A partitive subject (kahvia) is common in existential-type sentences (e.g., Kahvia on pöydällä = “There’s coffee on the table”) or when describing an ongoing/indefinite amount. With a punctual, completed loppui, nominative is preferred. In colloquial speech you may hear Kahvia loppui to suggest “coffee was running out,” but for a simple “it ran out,” stick to nominative: Kahvi loppui.

If you want to express the process rather than the completion, use:

• Kahvi on loppumassa. = The coffee is running out.
• Kahvi loppuu pian. = The coffee will run out soon.

How do I say “We ran out of coffee (…in the meeting)”?

Use the adessive case to mark the affected party:

• Meiltä loppui kahvi (kesken palaverin). = We ran out of coffee (in the middle of the meeting).
• Other persons: Minulta loppui raha. = I ran out of money. / Heiltä loppui bensa. = They ran out of gas.

This pattern is very common with loppua when you want to indicate who it happened to.

What exactly is the verb form loppui?

• Dictionary form: loppua (Type 1 verb: “to end, run out”)
• Present 3rd person singular: loppuu (double u)
• Past 3rd person singular: loppui (the -i past)
• Negative past: ei loppunut (negative + past active participle)
• Present negative: ei lopu

So Kahvi loppui = “The coffee ran out” (simple past event).

What’s the difference between Kahvi loppui, Kahvi on loppu, Kahvi on loppunut, and Kahvi on lopussa?

• Kahvi loppui. Event in the past: the coffee ran out (at some point).
• Kahvi on loppu. Present state: the coffee is (completely) out.
• Kahvi on loppunut. Resultative present perfect: the coffee has run out (focus on the result of a recent event).
• Kahvi on lopussa. Near-exhaustion: the coffee is almost gone / running low (not necessarily 0 left).

All are common; choose based on whether you’re reporting an event, a state, or a near-exhaustion.

Is loppua transitive? How do I say “We finished the coffee”?

Loppua is intransitive (“to come to an end”). If you want to express that someone finished/used up the coffee, use a transitive construction, often with loppuun (“to completion”):

• Me joimme kahvin loppuun. = We finished the coffee (by drinking it).
• He käyttivät kahvin loppuun. = They used the coffee up.
• Impersonal passive: Kahvi juotiin loppuun. = The coffee was finished (up).

Don’t use lopettaa with a product: lopettaa means “to stop (doing something),” e.g., Lopetin kahvin juomisen = I stopped drinking coffee.

Where does kesken go in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Typical placements:

• Kahvi loppui kesken (palaverin). (neutral)
• Kesken palaverin kahvi loppui. (fronted time phrase for emphasis)
• Kahvi loppui kesken palaverin eilen. (you can add other adverbials after)

Finnish word order is flexible for emphasis and information structure, but keep kesken close to the verb or its complement to maintain the “unfinished/in the middle of” link.

Could I use aikana instead, as in Palaverin aikana kahvi loppui?

Yes, aikana (“during”) is fine:

• Palaverin aikana kahvi loppui. = During the meeting, the coffee ran out.

However, kesken palaverin highlights that it happened prematurely (before the meeting ended), whereas palaverin aikana is a neutral time-frame without that nuance.

What other nouns commonly go with loppua (kesken)?

Very common with resources and supplies:

• aika (time): Aika loppui kesken. = We ran out of time (before finishing).
• raha(t) (money): Rahat loppuivat kesken.
• bensa / polttoaine (gas/fuel): Bensa loppui kesken matkan.
• akku (battery): Akun virta loppui kesken.
• sähkö (electricity): Sähkö loppui.
• liput (tickets): Liput loppuivat. (sold out; often without kesken)

How do I ask or negate this?

• Yes–no question uses -ko/kö:
  
  • Loppuiko kahvi kesken? = Did the coffee run out (before you were done)?
• Negative past:
  
  • Kahvi ei loppunut kesken. = The coffee didn’t run out (prematurely).
• You can also ask about the victim with adessive:
  
  • Keneltä kahvi loppui? = Who ran out of coffee?

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

• kahvi: pronounce the double-consonant cluster clearly: [kah-vi] (h is audible). Primary stress on the first syllable.
• loppui: the double pp is a long consonant; ui is a diphthong. Roughly [lop:pui].
• kesken: clear sk cluster and a short e in both syllables. Stress the first syllable: [kes-ken].