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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?