The Plusquamperfect Tense – Pluskvamperfekti
Finnish has 4 tenses: the present, the imperfect, the perfect and the plusquamperfect tense. This article deals with the last item of that list, which is used in sentences like:
- Kun olin syönyt, lähdin lenkille. “When I had eaten, I went for a walk.”
- Äiti itki, kun olin kertonut hänelle asiasta. “Mother cried after I told her about it.”
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- The Use of the Plusquamperfect Tense
- The Formation of the Plusquamperfect Tense
- Consonant Gradation in the Plusquamperfect Tense
- The Negative Plusquamperfect Tense
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1. The Use of the Plusquamperfect Tense
The plusquamperfect expresses an event prior to another event, with both events taking place in the past. Because of that, the most common way to use the plusquamperfect is to combine it with the imperfect.
In sentences with an imperfect + plusquamperfect pair, the imperfect tells about something that happened in the past. Then, the plusquamperfect tells you of an event that took place before that point of time.
Example 1
- Maija lähti (imperfect) lenkille, kun oli tehnyt (plusquamperfect) läksynsä.
“Maija went for a jog, when she had done her homework”
= The imperfect (lähti) happened in the past, and the plusquamperfect (oli tehnyt) happened before that.
Example 2
- Olin asunut (plusquamperfect) Suomessa kolme viikkoa, kun aloitin (imperfect) suomen kielen opiskelun.
“I had lived in Finland for three weeks when I started my Finnish language learning.
= The imperfect (aloitin) happened in the past, and the plusquamperfect (olin asunut) happened before that.
From these two examples, you can see that the order of the sentences has no effect on the meaning. You can interchange these as you please, just like in English. For example: “Menin kauppaan, kun olin imuroinut” is interchangeable with: “Kun olin imuroinut, menin kauppaan.”
2. The Formation of the Plusquamperfect Tense
The formation of the plusquamperfect is very similar to the perfect tense. The main verb will be in the exact same form you need for the perfect tense. The difference is that the olla-verb will be in the past tense instead of the present tense.
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| Verbtype 1 | |
|---|---|
| nukkua | kertoa |
| minä olin nukkunut | minä olin kertonut |
| sinä olit nukkunut | sinä olit kertonut |
| hän oli nukkunut | hän oli kertonut |
| me olimme nukkuneet | me olimme kertoneet |
| te olitte nukkuneet | te olitte kertoneet |
| he olivat nukkuneet | he olivat kertoneet |
[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
| Verbtype 2 | |
|---|---|
| juoda | myydä |
| minä olin juonut | minä olin myynyt |
| sinä olit juonut | sinä olit myynyt |
| hän oli juonut | hän oli myynyt |
| me olimme juoneet | me olimme myyneet |
| te olitte juoneet | te olitte myyneet |
| he olivat juoneet | he olivat myyneet |
[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
| Verbtype 3 | |
|---|---|
| ommella | nousta |
| minä olin ommellut | minä olin noussut |
| sinä olit ommellut | sinä olit noussut |
| hän oli ommellut | hän oli noussut |
| me olimme ommelleet | me olimme nousseet |
| te olitte ommelleet | te olitte nousseet |
| he olivat ommelleet | he olivat nousseet |
[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
| Verbtype 4 | |
|---|---|
| tavata | haluta |
| minä olin tavannut | minä olin halunnut |
| sinä olit tavannut | sinä olit halunnut |
| hän oli tavannut | hän oli halunnut |
| me olimme tavanneet | me olimme halunneet |
| te olitte tavanneet | te olitte halunneet |
| he olivat tavanneet | he olivat halunneet |
[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
| Verbtype 5 | |
|---|---|
| häiritä | valita |
| minä olin häirinnyt | minä olin valinnut |
| sinä olit häirinnyt | sinä olit valinnut |
| hän oli häirinnyt | hän oli valinnut |
| me olimme häirinneet | me olimme valinneet |
| te olitte häirinneet | te olitte valinneet |
| he olivat häirinneet | he olivat valinneet |
[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”true”]
| Verbtype 6 | |
|---|---|
| rohjeta | vanheta |
| minä olin rohjennut | minä olin vanhennut |
| sinä olit rohjennut | sinä olit vanhennut |
| hän oli rohjennut | hän oli vanhennut |
| me olimme rohjenneet | me olimme vanhenneet |
| te olitte rohjenneet | te olitte vanhenneet |
| he olivat rohjenneet | he olivat vanhenneet |
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3. Consonant Gradation in the Plusquamperfect Tense
Consonant gradation in the plusquamperfect is always the same as the infinitive of the verb (the basic form).
| Consonant gradation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verbtype | Infinitive | Minä | Sinä | Hän | Me | Te | He |
| Verbtype 1 | strong | strong | strong | strong | strong | strong | strong |
| Verbtype 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Verbtype 3 | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak |
| Verbtype 4 | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak |
| Verbtype 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Verbtype 6 | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak | weak |
4. The Negative Plusquamperfect Tense
| Verb | The Plusquamperfect | Negative Plusquamperfect |
|---|---|---|
| nukkua | minä olin nukkunut | minä en ollut nukkunut |
| tarjeta | minä olin tarjennut | minä en ollut tarjennut |
| antaa | sinä olit antanut | sinä et ollut antanut |
| valita | sinä olit valinnut | sinä et ollut valinnut |
| juoda | hän oli juonut | hän ei ollut juonut |
| soittaa | hän oli soittanut | hän ei ollut soittanut |
| imuroida | me olimme imuroineet | me emme olleet imuroineet |
| suudella | me olimme suudelleet | me emme olleet suudelleet |
| kävellä | te olitte kävelleet | te ette olleet kävelleet |
| silittää | te olitte silittäneet | te ette olleet silittäneet |
| tavata | he olivat tavanneet | he eivät olleet tavanneet |
| vanheta | he olivat vanhenneet | he eivät olleet vanhenneet |
Can I understand in Finnish Plusquamperfect Tense as the past form of perfect? So it has the similar meaning like perfect, a motion started in the past and still ongoing until a certain time in the past. For example: Olin valinnut englannin tunnin, alkoi oppia sitä viime maanantaina. Or is valitsin englannin tunnin, alkoi oppia sitä viime maanantaina. Which is better? or can I use both?
Thanks
Liisa
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