How do you express future in Finnish?
Which one is the correct translation of 'mä ostan ruokaa'? does it mean 'I'm buying food (right now)' or 'I'll buy some food'. How do you know which is future and which is present?

Question

Answer

It can mean either of these. You can tell from the context.
Though "Mä ostan ruokaa" would also mean "I usually buy food..." You can say "Olen ostamassa ruokaa" if you want to emphasize that it is what you are doing right now.

Answer

Also if you want to emphasize that you're going to buy food in the future you can add a time to the sentence ("Mä ostan ruokaa myöhemmin"/"Mä ostan ruokaa huomenna") or you can use the verb "aikoa" (="plan to do") as in "Mä aion ostaa ruokaa".

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