Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.

We go to the lake even though it is cold outside.

Breakdown of Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.

• olla: to be
• mennä: to go
• ulkona: outside
• kylmä: cold
• -lle: to
• järvi: the lake
• vaikka: even if

Questions & Answers about Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.

Where is the word “we” in the Finnish sentence? Why is there no pronoun?

In Finnish the subject pronoun is usually dropped because it is clear from the verb ending.

• Menemme = we go / we are going
  
  • -mme is the ending for “we” (1st person plural).

So:

• Me menemme järvelle. – fully explicit
• Menemme järvelle. – normal, more natural; me is understood from -mme.

Both are grammatically correct; everyday Finnish usually omits me if there’s no special emphasis.

How is menemme formed, and what are the other forms of mennä in the present tense?

The infinitive is mennä (to go). In the present tense it uses the stem mene-:

• minä menen – I go
• sinä menet – you go (singular)
• hän menee – he/she goes
• me menemme – we go
• te menette – you go (plural)
• he menevät – they go

So menemme = mene- (stem) + -mme (we-ending).

Why is it järvelle and not just järvi?

Järvi means lake in the basic (nominative) form.
Järvelle is in the allative case, which often means:

• to / onto a place
• to the vicinity of a place

So:

• järvi – lake
• järvelle – to the lake / onto the lake area (usually: to the shore or the lakeside)

In Menemme järvelle, the case ending -lle tells you the direction: you are going to the lake, not just talking about a lake.

What is the difference between järvelle and järveen?

Both express direction, but to different “parts” of the lake:

• järvelle (allative) – to the lake area / to the shore / onto the lake

  • You’re going to the lake as a location: maybe to walk by it, sit on the dock, go to a cottage by the lake, etc.

• järveen (illative) – into the lake (into the water)

  • You’re going into the water itself, e.g. to swim.

Examples:

• Menemme järvelle. – We’re going (to the area by) the lake.
• Menemme järveen. – We’re going into the lake (into the water).

Why does järvi change to järve- in järvelle?

This is a regular stem change in Finnish.

The nominative järvi has the stem järve- for most case forms:

• järvi – lake (nominative)
• järve-n – of the lake (genitive)
• järve-llä – on/at the lake (adessive)
• järve-lle – to the lake (allative)
• järve-ssä – in the lake (inessive)

So the -i in järvi becomes -e- in many other forms. You just need to memorize the pattern for this type of word.

What exactly does vaikka mean here, and how is it different from mutta or koska?

In this sentence vaikka means “although / even though” and introduces a concessive clause:

• Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.
  = We are going to the lake, although it is cold outside.

Compare:

• mutta = but (joins two main clauses)

  • On kylmä, mutta menemme järvelle.
    It’s cold, but we’re going to the lake.

• koska = because (gives a reason)

  • Menemme järvelle, koska on lämmin.
    We’re going to the lake because it’s warm.

• vaikka = although / even though (something happens despite a fact)

  • Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.
    We’re going even though it’s cold.

Note: with a real fact, vaikka usually takes the normal (indicative) tense: on kylmä. With a hypothetical, you might see the conditional: Vaikka ulkona olisi kylmä… (Even if it were cold outside…).

Why is there a comma before vaikka?

Finnish always uses a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause introduced by conjunctions such as että, koska, vaikka, jos etc.

So here:

• Main clause: Menemme järvelle
• Subordinate clause: vaikka ulkona on kylmä

Because these are two clauses and vaikka starts a subordinate one, a comma is required:

• Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.

Can I change the word order to Vaikka ulkona on kylmä, menemme järvelle?

Yes, and that is very natural.

Both are correct:

1. Menemme järvelle, vaikka ulkona on kylmä.
2. Vaikka ulkona on kylmä, menemme järvelle.

The difference is mainly in emphasis:

• Version 1 puts the focus first on the action (we are going to the lake), then adds the surprising condition.
• Version 2 highlights the unexpected condition first (even though it’s cold), and then tells you what happens anyway.

Grammatically, both orders are fine.

What does ulkona mean exactly, and why not just ulko?

Ulkona is an adverb-like form meaning “outside / outdoors”.

Technically, ulkona is the adessive singular of ulko (outside, exterior), but in practice it behaves like a fixed adverb:

• ulkona – outside
• Sisällä on lämmin, ulkona on kylmä. – It’s warm inside, (and) cold outside.

You usually say ulkona, not ulko, in sentences like this. Ulko on its own is rare and more like a dictionary base form.

Why is it ulkona on kylmä and not something like se on kylmä ulkona?

Finnish weather and temperature expressions are structured differently from English:

• On kylmä. – It is cold. (literally: is cold)
• Ulkona on kylmä. – It’s cold outside. (literally: Outside is cold.)

You can say Se on kylmä ulkona, but it’s less natural, and se (it) usually needs a clear referent. For general weather, Finnish prefers on + adjective, optionally with a place word:

• On kylmä.
• Ulkona on kylmä.
• Täällä on kylmä. – It’s cold here.

Could you also say Ulkona on kylmää? What’s the difference from kylmä?

Yes, you sometimes hear both:

• Ulkona on kylmä.
• Ulkona on kylmää.

Difference:

• kylmä (nominative) – more neutral, stating the fact: It is cold outside.
• kylmää (partitive) – more like it’s kind of cold / it’s cold-ish / there is coldness outside, often a bit more descriptive or subjective.

In everyday speech, Ulkona on kylmä is very common and perfectly fine here.

Why is the verb menemme in the present tense if the English translation is “we are going” or even “we will go”?

Finnish does not have a separate future tense. The present tense often covers:

• present: Menemme järvelle nyt. – We are going to the lake now.
• near future / planned future: Menemme järvelle huomenna. – We are going / will go to the lake tomorrow.

Context and time expressions (nyt, huomenna, tänään etc.) show whether it’s present or future. So menemme can be translated as we go / we are going / we will go depending on context.

Why is there no word for “the” in järvelle? How do I know it’s “to the lake” and not “to a lake”?

Finnish has no articles (no “a/an”, no “the”). Definiteness and specificity are shown by:

• context
• word choice
• sometimes word order or possessives

So Menemme järvelle can mean:

• We are going to the lake
• We are going to a lake

In most real situations, context makes it clear whether it’s a specific, known lake or just some lake. English has to choose an article; Finnish doesn’t.