Aikailmaisut

Aikailmaisut, in Finnish linguistics, are expressions that convey the time reference of events in speech or writing. They are used to indicate when something happens, when it occurred relative to the present, or how events relate to one another in time. Aikailmaisut can be single words or multiword phrases and they may appear in different positions within a sentence.

Common forms of aikailmaisut include adverbs of time such as nyt (now), tänään (today), eilen (yesterday), and huomenna (tomorrow). They also include time phrases that specify a moment more precisely, for example viime viikolla (during last week), ensi vuonna (next year), and kolme viikkoa sitten (three weeks ago). Finnish time expressions can function as adjuncts to the verb or to the entire clause, helping to anchor the discourse in a particular temporal frame.

In practice, aikailmaisut interact with Finnish verb tense and aspect to shape temporal interpretation. Finnish verbs encode tense morphologically, while aikailmaisut provide explicit temporal context and can guide the listener’s or reader’s understanding of the sequence of events. They are useful for organizing narratives, asking questions about time, and signaling shifts in time within a text or conversation.

See also: Finnish grammar, adverbs of time, temporal clauses, discourse time.