"Me olimme täällä"

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mradh74
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:40 pm

"Me olimme täällä"

Post by mradh74 » Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:25 pm

Hi everyone

I was wondering if anyone would be able to translate
"Me olimme täällä"
for me?

What's the difference between the above, and "olimme täällä"?

I think they both mean "we were here"?

Any information would be much appreciated - thanks!



"Me olimme täällä"

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Jukka Aho
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Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 1:46 am
Location: Espoo, Finland

Re: "Me olimme täällä"

Post by Jukka Aho » Sun Nov 29, 2015 10:49 pm

mradh74 wrote:What's the difference between the above, and "olimme täällä"?

I think they both mean "we were here"?
You’re right, there is no difference... except if you want to put a special emphasis/stress on either the verb or the subject and need to have them as separate words for that purpose. But if a personal pronoun is the subject of a sentence, and if it is in the first or the second person, you can (most of the time) choose to explicitly include it or leave it out. In the latter case, the reader can deduce the implicit subject from the verb form.

Exception: The third person. You usually don’t leave hän or he out in sentences like Hän oli täällä or He olivat täällä; it just sounds weird or incomplete (or a bit rural/dated... except as an answer to a direct question which has already stated the pronoun/verb and where you’re repeating the verb in your answer. Olivatko he täällä? — Olivat. / — Eivät tietenkään olleet!)

Don Huonot — Olemme kuin veljet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRicyxR0_r8
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Pursuivant
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Location: Bath & Wells

Re: "Me olimme täällä"

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:42 am

As a graffiti - "we was here"

There is a tendency in Finnish to omit any "known" bits and pieces, so you include it for enphasis,so its "WE was here"
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."

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Karhunkoski
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Location: Keski-Suomi

Re: "Me olimme täällä"

Post by Karhunkoski » Mon Nov 30, 2015 7:49 am

Jukka Aho wrote: it just sounds weird or incomplete (or a bit rural...
Animal-like?
Political correctness is the belief that it's possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

mradh74
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:40 pm

Re: "Me olimme täällä"

Post by mradh74 » Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:20 pm

Thanks everyone, that's made it clear - help much appreciated!


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