Seuraava käynti virastossa on ensi maanantaina.

My next visit to the office is next Monday.

Breakdown of Seuraava käynti virastossa on ensi maanantaina.

• olla: to be
• -ssa: in
• virasto: the office
• seuraava käynti: the next visit
• ensi maanantaina: next Monday

Questions & Answers about Seuraava käynti virastossa on ensi maanantaina.

Why are there two different words that both seem to mean next: seuraava and ensi?

They modify different things and they’re not perfectly interchangeable in all contexts.

• seuraava = following/next (one in a sequence). Here it modifies käynti: seuraava käynti = the next visit (the next one that will happen).
• ensi = next (upcoming), especially common with days, weeks, months: ensi maanantaina = next Monday (the coming Monday in the near future).

So the sentence is basically The next visit to the office is next Monday.

What does käynti mean exactly, and why isn’t it a verb here?

käynti is a noun meaning a visit / an errand / an appointment (as an act of going somewhere). It’s related to the verb käydä (to go/visit). Finnish often uses a noun + olla (to be) to express scheduling:

• Seuraava käynti on ensi maanantaina. = The next visit is on next Monday. You could also express it with a verb (depending on nuance), but the noun phrasing is very natural for appointments.

Why is virastossa in the -ssa form? What case is that?

virastossa is inessive case (-ssa/-ssä), meaning in (inside a place).

• virasto = an office (often an official office, like a government agency)
• virastossa = in the office / at the agency (inside the premises)

So käynti virastossa means a visit at/in the office.

Could it be virastoon instead of virastossa?

Yes, but it changes the focus:

• käynti virastossa (inessive) = a visit in/at the office (the visit takes place there)
• käynti virastoon (illative, -Vn) = a visit to the office (emphasizes going there as a destination)

Both can be heard, but käynti + inessive is very common when you mean the appointment happens there.

Why is it maanantaina and not something like maanantai?

maanantaina uses the essive case (-na/-nä), which is commonly used for time expressions meaning on (a day):

• maanantai = Monday (the basic dictionary form)
• maanantaina = on Monday

This is the normal way to say on Monday, on Tuesday, etc. (and Finnish does not use a preposition like on here).

Why isn’t Maanantaina capitalized?

In Finnish, days of the week and months are not capitalized unless they start a sentence. So: ensi maanantaina, tammikuussa, etc.

What is the role of on here? Is it literally is?

Yes. on is the 3rd person singular of olla (to be). Finnish often uses olla to link a subject to a time or place:

• Seuraava käynti on ensi maanantaina. = The next visit is on next Monday. This is a common scheduling structure, similar to English The meeting is on Monday.

Could the word order be different?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible, and changes emphasis:

• Seuraava käynti virastossa on ensi maanantaina. (neutral: topic = the next visit)
• Ensi maanantaina on seuraava käynti virastossa. (emphasis on the date: next Monday is when it happens)
• Seuraava käynti on virastossa ensi maanantaina. (possible, but tends to highlight virastossa a bit)

All are grammatically possible; the “best” depends on what you’re focusing on.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Finnish has no articles. Definiteness is inferred from context.

• Seuraava käynti naturally implies a specific one: the next visit (because “next” already makes it specific). If you needed to clarify definiteness/indefiniteness, Finnish uses other tools (context, word order, sometimes demonstratives like se = that/the).