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Meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone ensin, koska akku oli melkein tyhjä.

Meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone ensin, koska akku oli melkein tyhjä.
We should have tested the drill first, because the battery was almost empty.
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Questions & Answers about Meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone ensin, koska akku oli melkein tyhjä.

What does Meidän olisi pitänyt… literally mean, and why is it used here?

It’s the Finnish way to say we should have… / we ought to have… (but didn’t).

  • meidän = of us (used to mark who has the obligation)
  • olisi = conditional of olla (would be)
  • pitänyt = past participle of pitää (to have to / should) So the structure meidän olisi pitänyt + infinitive expresses a past, unrealized obligation.
Why is meidän in the genitive (not me as a normal subject)?

In obligation expressions, Finnish often uses a genitive “possessor” instead of a nominative subject:

  • minun pitää = I have to
  • meidän pitäisi = we should So meidän olisi pitänyt is the past/conditional version of the same pattern. It’s normal that there is no nominative me in this type of sentence.
What is the grammar behind olisi pitänyt (two verbs in a row)?

This is a compound verb form:

  • olisi = conditional form of olla
  • pitänyt = perfect participle of pitää Together they form a kind of conditional perfect meaning would have had to / should have. Then the main action comes as an infinitive: testata.
Could you say meidän piti testata instead? What would change?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

  • Meidän piti testata porakone… = We were supposed to test the drill… (more neutral; it may or may not imply regret)
  • Meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone… = We should have tested the drill… (clearly implies we didn’t and it was a mistake)
Why is the next verb testata in the basic infinitive?

After modal/obligation verbs like pitää, Finnish uses the 1st infinitive (dictionary form):

  • pitäisi tehdä
  • olisi pitänyt tehdä So testata is simply the required infinitive form after this construction.
What’s going on with the object porakone—shouldn’t it be porakonetta or porakoneen?

Many learners wonder this because Finnish object case is tricky.

  • If you mean test (some/for a while) → often partitive: testata porakonetta
  • If you mean test the drill (as a complete, bounded action) → often total object: testata porakoneen The given testata porakone is something you may see in simplified/learner text or some informal usage, but in careful standard Finnish you’ll usually see porakonetta or porakoneen depending on the intended nuance.
How is porakone formed, and how does it inflect?

It’s a compound:

  • pora = drill (as a tool/boring)
  • kone = machine So porakone = power drill / drill machine. Common forms:
  • nominative: porakone
  • genitive: porakoneen
  • partitive: porakonetta
Why is ensin placed where it is, and can it move?

ensin (first) is an adverb and is quite flexible. All of these are possible with slightly different emphasis:

  • Meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone ensin…
  • Meidän olisi pitänyt ensin testata porakone…
  • Ensin meidän olisi pitänyt testata porakone… The original placement is very natural and keeps the focus on testata plus the “first” instruction at the end of the verb phrase.
Why is there a comma before koska, and what’s the word order in that clause?

A koska (because) clause is a subordinate clause, and Finnish normally separates it with a comma: …, koska … Word order stays fairly normal here:

  • akku oli melkein tyhjä = the battery was almost empty In many subordinate clauses you may notice the verb earlier than in English, but this particular clause looks very straightforward.
In akku oli melkein tyhjä, why is tyhjä in the nominative form?

Because it’s a predicate adjective after olla (to be). Predicate adjectives agree with the subject in number (and are typically nominative):

  • akku on tyhjä (singular)
  • akut ovat tyhjät (plural) melkein (almost) is an adverb modifying tyhjä.