Pystyisimme

Pystyisimme is a Finnish verb form of the verb pystyä, meaning “to be able to.” It is the first-person plural form of the conditional mood (often described as the potential/conditional mood) and translates to “we would be able to” or “we could.” It is used to express hypothetical ability or possibility.

The form is built from the stem pysty- with the suffix -isi- and the personal ending -mme, yielding pystyisimme. Other persons have pystyisit, pystyisi, pystyisimme, pystyisitte, pystyisivät.

Usage of pystyisimme is common in conditional clauses and in proposals or hypothetical statements. Examples include: “Pystyisimme auttamaan, jos saisimme lisätietoja” (We could help if we obtained more information) and “Pystyisimme järjestämään tapaamisen ensi viikolla” (We could organize a meeting next week). The mood conveys hypothetical capability rather than a definite plan.

Grammar notes: In modern Finnish, -isi- forms are often described as the potential mood, functioning similarly to English “would be able to” in contexts of hypothetical ability. They appear in formal and written Finnish and are also found in spoken Finnish, though speakers sometimes prefer other constructions such as “voimme” or “voisimme” to reflect different nuance.

Relation and morphology: pystyisimme derives from pystyä and forms part of a full set of person forms: pystyisit, pystyisi, pystyisimme, pystyisitte, pystyisivät, used to express hypothetical capability across persons.