menisivät

Menisivät is a Finnish verb form, the third-person plural conditional present form of mennä, meaning “they would go.” It is used to express a hypothetical or contingent action in present or future contexts, typically within clauses introduced by if or other conditionals.

Morphology and related forms: The form is built from the verb stem men-, plus the conditional marker isi-, and the 3rd person plural personal ending -vät, yielding menisivät. Related conditional forms include menisin (1st person singular), menisit (2nd person singular), menisi (3rd person singular), menisimme (1st person plural), and menisitte (2nd person plural). The conditional mood differs from the indicative and from the potential mood, and it is commonly used in hypothetical statements.

Usage and examples: Menisivät appears in subordinate clauses expressing hypothetical outcomes. Examples: Jos he menisivät kaupungiin, he näkisivät vanhempansa. (If they went to the city, they would see their relatives.) Hän sanoi, että he menisivät myöhemmin. (He said that they would go later.) The conditional present often translates to would go in English and can describe present or future contingencies.

Past forms: Finnish also has a past conditional, used to describe hypothetical outcomes in the past, formed with olisi or olisivat plus the past participle, for example olisivat menneet (they would have gone). This contrasts with the present conditional menisivät.

See also: Finnish verb conjugation, conditional mood, mennä (to go).