In Finnish, the imperfekti is the past tense that describes actions that happened in the past, like the English simple past (e.g., "I walked," "I saw"). It’s used for actions that are completed or that took place at a specific time.
Here's how to form the imperfekti and some examples:
Formation of Imperfekti
- Start with the basic form (verb stem) of the verb.
- Add a past tense marker, usually
-i-, and sometimes adjust vowels or consonants as needed. - Add the appropriate personal ending.
Examples
Verb: asua (to live)
- Stem: asu-
- Imperfekti: asuin (I lived)
- Sentences:
- Minä asuin Helsingissä. (I lived in Helsinki.)
- Hän asui Suomessa. (He/she lived in Finland.)
Verb: syödä (to eat)
- Stem: syö-
- Imperfekti: söin (I ate)
- Sentences:
- Me söimme pizzaa eilen. (We ate pizza yesterday.)
- Hän söi omenan. (He/she ate an apple.)
Verb: juoda (to drink)
- Stem: juo-
- Imperfekti: join (I drank)
- Sentences:
- Join kahvia aamulla. (I drank coffee in the morning.)
- He joivat teetä iltapäivällä. (They drank tea in the afternoon.)
Verb: kävellä (to walk)
- Stem: kävele-
- Imperfekti: kävelin (I walked)
- Sentences:
- Kävelin puistossa. (I walked in the park.)
- He kävelivät rannalla. (They walked on the beach.)
Irregular Verbs
Some verbs have changes in their stems or are irregular:
Verb: olla (to be)
- Imperfekti: olin (I was)
- Example: Olin kotona koko päivän. (I was at home all day.)
Verb: tehdä (to do)
- Imperfekti: teki (he/she did)
- Example: Hän teki läksyt nopeasti. (He/she did the homework quickly.)
Practice with Easy Sentences
- Eilen satoi vettä. (It rained yesterday.)
- Hän kirjoitti kirjeen. (He/she wrote a letter.)
- Katsoimme elokuvan illalla. (We watched a movie in the evening.)
- Lapset leikkivät ulkona. (The children played outside.)
