Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä.

We go to the Nordic countries in the summer.

Breakdown of Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä.

• mennä: to go
• me: we
• kesällä: in the summer
• Pohjoismaa: Nordic country
• -hin: to

Questions & Answers about Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä.

Why is there no separate word for “we” in the Finnish sentence?

Finnish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• Menemme already means “we go / we are going / we will go”.
• Adding me (me menemme) is possible, but it adds emphasis, like:
  
  • Me menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä, emme te.
    – We are going to the Nordic countries in the summer, not you.

So the basic, neutral way is simply Menemme ... without me.

Does “menemme” mean “we go”, “we are going” or “we will go”?

All of those are possible; Finnish doesn’t have a separate future tense.

Menemme is the present tense of mennä (to go), 1st person plural:

• It can mean:
  • We go (general statement)
  • We are going (right now / arranged plan)
  • We will go (future plan, like in your sentence)

Context and time expressions (like kesällä = in the summer) tell you whether it’s present or future in English.

What is the dictionary form of “menemme”, and how is it conjugated?

The dictionary (infinitive) form is mennä = to go.

Present tense forms:

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

So menemme = me + menemme = we go (with the pronoun me usually left out).

What case is “Pohjoismaihin”, and why does it end in -ihin?

Pohjoismaihin is in the illative plural case.

• The illative case means “into, to (inside)”.
• The plural illative often has the ending -ihin or -iin.

Base form (nominative plural): Pohjoismaat – Nordic countries
Stem for many cases: Pohjoismai-

Add the illative plural ending:

• Pohjoismai-
  • hin → Pohjoismaihin = to the Nordic countries / into the Nordic countries.

You use this case with verbs of movement towards somewhere:
mennä Pohjoismaihin, muuttaa Pohjoismaihin etc.

What is the base form and literal meaning of “Pohjoismaihin”?

The base (dictionary) form is Pohjoismaa.

• Pohjois- = north / northern
• maa = country, land

Singular: Pohjoismaa – literally northern country
Plural nominative: Pohjoismaat – Nordic countries
Plural illative: Pohjoismaihin – to/into the Nordic countries

So Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä literally is something like:
“We go into the northern countries in the summer.”
But idiomatically in English: “We’re going to the Nordic countries in the summer.”

Why is “Pohjoismaihin” capitalized?

Because Pohjoismaat is treated as a proper name for a specific group of countries, like “the Nordic countries” in English.

• Proper names of countries, regions, and established geographic/political entities are capitalized in Finnish:
  • Suomi, Ruotsi, Eurooppa, Pohjoismaat.

If you wrote pohjoismaa without a capital, that would be interpreted more as a generic “northern country”, not the specific region.

Why does “kesällä” mean “in the summer”, and what case is it?

Kesällä is the adessive singular form of kesä (summer).

• Base form: kesä – summer
• Adessive singular: kesällä

The adessive (-lla / -llä) often expresses:

• location on/at something
• time when something happens

With seasons, Finnish commonly uses the adessive to say “in (that) season”:

• kesällä – in the summer
• talvella – in the winter
• keväällä – in the spring
• syksyllä – in the autumn

So kesällä naturally translates as “in the summer”.

Can I change the word order, for example: “Kesällä menemme Pohjoismaihin”?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible, and you can move elements for emphasis or flow.

All of these are grammatically correct:

• Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä.
  – Neutral: stating the plan, slight focus on the destination.
• Kesällä menemme Pohjoismaihin.
  – Emphasis on when: As for the summer, that’s when we’re going to the Nordic countries.
• Pohjoismaihin menemme kesällä.
  – Stronger emphasis on where: It’s to the Nordic countries that we’re going, in the summer (not somewhere else).

In everyday speech, Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä and Kesällä menemme Pohjoismaihin are both very natural.

How do I make this sentence negative: “We are not going to the Nordic countries in the summer”?

Finnish uses a special negative verb that is conjugated, plus the main verb in a short form.

For me (we), the negative verb is emme.

• Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä.
  → Emme mene Pohjoismaihin kesällä.
  = We are not going to the Nordic countries in the summer.

Pattern:

• positive: me menemme
• negative: me emme mene
  (subject pronoun me can be omitted: Emme mene ...)

How do I say “Let’s go to the Nordic countries in the summer”?

Finnish usually uses the so‑called passive/impersonal form for “let’s …”.

• Mennään Pohjoismaihin kesällä.
  = Let’s go to the Nordic countries in the summer.

Compare:

• Menemme Pohjoismaihin kesällä. – We (are) go(ing) to the Nordic countries in the summer.
• Mennään Pohjoismaihin kesällä. – Let’s go to the Nordic countries in the summer.

So mennään is the natural “let’s go” form in Finnish.

How would I say “We are in the Nordic countries in the summer” (not going there, just staying there)?

You’d change the case of Pohjoismaat from illative (into) to inessive (in, inside).

• Olemme Pohjoismaissa kesällä.
  = We are in the Nordic countries in the summer.

Quick comparison of common place cases:

• Pohjoismaihin – to / into the Nordic countries (movement towards)
• Pohjoismaissa – in the Nordic countries (location inside)
• Pohjoismaista – from the Nordic countries (movement from inside)

Your original sentence uses Pohjoismaihin because it’s about going to the countries.

Which countries are included in “Pohjoismaat”?

Pohjoismaat refers to the Nordic countries, usually:

• Suomi – Finland
• Ruotsi – Sweden
• Norja – Norway
• Tanska – Denmark
• Islanti – Iceland

Sometimes territories like the Faroe Islands and Greenland are also included in the broader Nordic context, but grammatically they all fall under the general term Pohjoismaat.