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Breakdown of Hän ei myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
hän
he/she
kahvi
the coffee
juoda
to drink
ei
not
iltaisin
in the evenings
myöskään
either
Questions & Answers about Hän ei myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
Does hän mean he or she?
Yes. Hän is gender‑neutral and can mean either he or she. In casual spoken Finnish, people often use se (and plural ne) for people too, but in standard written Finnish you use hän (plural he).
What does myöskään mean, and how is it different from myös?
Myöskään means either or also (not) and is used only with negation.
- Affirmative: Hän juo myös kahvia. = He/She also drinks coffee.
- Negative: Hän ei myöskään juo kahvia. = He/She doesn’t drink coffee either.
The element -kaan/-kään is the “also/either” clitic that pairs with negation.
Where can myöskään go in the sentence? Is the word order fixed?
It’s flexible, but it must be in a clause with negation (ei). Common options:
- Hän ei myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin. (neutral)
- Myöskään hän ei juo kahvia iltaisin. (fronted for emphasis)
- Attach the clitic to a focused word: Hän ei juo kahviakaan iltaisin. (emphasis on coffee)
- Or to the subject: Hänkään ei juo kahvia iltaisin.
Avoid: Hän myöskään ei juo… (sounds odd).
Why is kahvia in the partitive case, not kahvin?
Because of negation and because it’s an indefinite/mass amount. In negative clauses, the object is typically in the partitive: ei juo kahvia.
- Partitive: juo kahvia = drinks coffee (some/unspecified amount)
- Total object: juo kahvin = drinks the (whole) coffee (specific, completes it)
Can I say kahviakaan here? What’s the nuance?
Yes: Hän ei juo kahviakaan iltaisin. This adds emphasis: he/she doesn’t drink coffee either, not even coffee. Here kahvia (partitive) + -kaan becomes kahviakaan. It contrasts with something previously mentioned (e.g., tea).
What is the role of ei and why is the verb juo unchanged in the negative?
Finnish negation uses a special negative verb ei that conjugates for person, while the main verb appears in a “connegative” form (no personal ending). For juoda:
- en/et/ei/emme/ette/eivät juo = I/you/he‑she/we/you/they don’t drink Here juo looks the same as the 3rd‑person affirmative form, but in the negative it’s the connegative form.
How would I say this with other persons?
- I: En myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
- You (sg.): Et myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
- We: Emme myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
- They: Eivät myöskään juo kahvia iltaisin.
How do I put it in the past tense?
Use the negative verb + past participle of the main verb:
- Hän ei myöskään juonut kahvia iltaisin. = He/She also didn’t drink coffee in the evenings (then/at that time).
What exactly does iltaisin mean compared to illalla?
- iltaisin = in the evenings, habitually/regularly (repeated action)
- illalla = in the evening (on a particular evening, e.g., today/that day)
So your sentence describes a general habit.
How is iltaisin formed?
From ilta (evening) + the plural instructive ending -in, which often creates adverbs meaning “on Xs (regularly)”. Common parallels: aamuisin (in the mornings), päivisin (by day), öisin (at night), viikonloppuisin (on weekends).
Can the time phrase iltaisin move?
Yes. Word order is flexible:
- Iltaisin hän ei myöskään juo kahvia. (emphasis on time)
- Hän ei juo kahvia iltaisin. (neutral)
- Hän ei iltaisin juo kahvia. (slight emphasis on time before the verb) All are acceptable.
Is it okay to start a text with Hän ei myöskään…?
It’s grammatical, but myöskään usually implies there’s another item in a list of negatives. It feels most natural if a previous clause (stated or implied) is already negative. Without context, it can sound like something is missing.
What’s the difference between ei myöskään and eikä?
- ei myöskään stays inside one clause: Hän ei myöskään juo kahvia.
- eikä links to a previous negative clause and means “and not / nor”:
Hän ei syö sokeria, eikä hän juo kahvia iltaisin.
Using both (eikä… myöskään) is possible in speech but stylistically redundant.
How does vowel harmony affect -kaan/-kään?
Choose -kään after front vowels (y, ö, ä): myös → myöskään.
Choose -kaan after back vowels (a, o, u): kahvia → kahviakaan.
Neutral vowels (e, i) don’t decide; look at the other vowels in the word.
Could I use Hänkään instead of myöskään?
Yes: Hänkään ei juo kahvia iltaisin. Here -kään attaches to hän, focusing the subject (“He/She neither…”). It’s equivalent in meaning but shifts the emphasis to the subject rather than the verb or object.
How would I say “never” instead of “also not”?
Use ei koskaan (or more colloquially ei ikinä):
- Hän ei koskaan juo kahvia iltaisin. = He/She never drinks coffee in the evenings.
Is iltaisin ever iltasin?
Yes, iltasin is common in colloquial speech. In standard written Finnish, use iltaisin.
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