(1) It denotes an action in past time, either habitual or isolated,
either continuous or momentary; it thus corresponds to several past
tenses in other languages. =Seuraavana päivänä tuli nuori rouva
aamiais-pöytään, kun muut olivat lopettaneet=, _next day the young
lady came down to breakfast when the rest had finished_. =Tapasitko
sisartani?= _did you meet my sister?_ =En tavannut=, _I did not meet
her_. =Joka päivä lähti hän kävelemään pääkadulle=, _every day he took
a walk in the principal street_. =Lohi loimahti merehen=, _the salmon
jumped into the sea_. =Itki yötä kaksi kolme=, _he wept two or three
nights_.
(2) It is also used like the present in a concessive sense, but much more
frequently than that tense. =Kävi miten kävi, asiaan on ryhtyttävä=,
_come what may, the business must be begun_. =Oli kumpi hyvänsä=,
_whichever of the two it is_. Cf. such expressions as =kuka niitä kaikkia
muisti? Lempo niitä ymmärsi=.
It is noticeable that in the narrative portions of the Kalevala and other
poems the present and imperfect are used almost indifferently (_v._
extracts at end of book). Perhaps the sound of the terminations =pi= and
=vi=, which, like the imperfect, end in =i=, made the confusion easier.
III. The perfect corresponds pretty nearly to the tense formed with the
auxiliary _have_ in English. =Olemme maanneet vähän aikaa niin lähdemme
järvelle koko yöksi=, _we have slept a little and are going out on the
lake for the whole night_. =Oletteko ennen kuulleet sitä laulua?= _have
you heard that song before?_ =En ole nähnyt häntä moneen aikaan=, _I have
not seen him for a long time_.
IV. The pluperfect expresses an action finished in past time, and may be
rendered by _had_ in English. =Kun hän sen sanonut oli, meni hän taas
ulos=, _when he had said this he went out again_. =Oliko hän ehkä saanut
tiedon asiasta?= _had he by any chance heard of the matter?_
It will be observed that there is no real future tense in Finnish. Its
want is supplied in several ways.
A. By the present tense as described above.
B. By a periphrastic conjugation consisting of the present participle
and the present or imperfect of =olla=. This corresponds to the Russian
future with =буду=, and denotes a future action the time of which is not
specified. =Ennenkuin päivät tulevat koskas olet sanova....=, _before
the days come in which thou shalt say...._ (Eccl. xii. 1). =Hän on
vapahtava kansansa heidän synneistänsä=, _He shall save His people from
their sins_.
C. By the concessive. This tense is frequently used to imply something
probable or doubtful in the future. =Ostanevat kaupungista kirjat ja
tuonevat ne jo huomenna kotia=, _they will probably buy new books and
bring them home to-morrow_. =Tappaneeko hän itsensä?= (S. John viii. 22)
_will he kill himself?_
D. By the conditional, especially in conditional sentences. =Tulisin
huomenna, jos ehtisin=, _I shall come to-morrow, if I have time_. =Isäntä
ei palkitsisi sinua ennenkuin olisit työsi lopettanut=, _your master will
not pay you before you finish your work_.
E. Various periphrases are used, particularly when there is any idea of
necessity or obligation in the future. The following examples taken from
the translation of the Bible will show this. =Minä saan nähdä hänen,
mutta en nyt=, _I shall see him, but not now_ (Num. xxiv. 17, but the
passage continues =minä katselen häntä waan en lästä=). =Teidän pitää
minua etsimän=, _ye shall seek me_ (S. John vii. 34). =Sillä ei sitä pidä
unhotettaman heidän siemenensä suussa=, _for it shall not be forgotten
out of the mouths of their seed_ (Deut. xxxi. 21). =Autuaat ovat siviät
sillä he saavat maan periä=, _blessed are the meek for they shall inherit
the earth_ (S. Matt. v. 5).
_The Concessive._
This mood represents an action as possible, and is particularly used in
questions, or in sentences introduced by such particles as =ehkä=, which
imply a doubt or question.
It has two tenses.
I. The present, implying a potential action in the present or future.
=Lieneekö totta mitä sanotaan?= _is it likely that what people say is
true?_ =Hän sen parhaiten tietänee=, _he probably knows best_. =Jos et
tuostana totelle=, _if thou willst not obey that_. =Osannet palkan ottaa,
osaa työkin tehdä=, _wouldst thou know how to receive the reward, learn
how to do the work_. =Sureneeko Jumala härkiä?= _doth God care for oxen?_
=Ei suattane sinua Saaren suurehen sukuhun=, _they are not likely to
tolerate your alliance with the great family of the island_ (Kal. xi. 71).
II. The past, implying a potential action in past time. =Hän lienee
luullut minua toiseksi=, _he probably thought I was some one else_. =Ei
liene sinua luotu Ison tammen taittajaksi= (Kal. ii. 145), _thou art
probably not created to break the mighty oak_. =Lieneekö hän arvanuut
ketä puhutteli?= _did he know with whom he spoke?_
_The Conditional._
The conditional mood has two tenses, the present and past, which denote
an action dependent on certain conditions in present or past time.