Finnish to Cantonese: an ongoing action is not necessarily happening now
Finnish time reference comes from more than the verb label
Riitta Korhonen describes the Finnish present as nonpast: it can concern the current situation, a habit or a future event. Her discussion also notes that constructions with olla and an activity expression can describe something underway or, in appropriate contexts, something approaching. A Cantonese translation must identify the time and viewpoint intended in the whole message rather than assigning now to every present-looking Finnish form.
The same article explains that the Finnish perfect can describe continuing situations as well as past events with present consequences. An account of having done something before and a report about what is underway are therefore not distinguished simply by counting how many Finnish verb words appear. Preserve any time expression and the relationship to the speaker’s current situation before choosing a Cantonese aspect marker.
A Finnish activity phrase can concern someone other than the main actor
Toivonen’s infinitive study discusses Finnish -massa forms with stative and perception verbs. In her standing-and-watching example, the person standing is also watching. In the hearing-and-singing example, however, the person heard is the singer. That contrast matters when a Cantonese rendering expresses the embedded activity with its own aspect marking.
An account of hearing somebody sing should not turn into a report that the listener is singing. Nor should the nonfinite Finnish form be treated as an isolated dictionary action detached from its participant. Toivonen analyses how the surrounding verb determines the relationship. For this direction, establish who performs the activity being viewed as ongoing before considering how Cantonese presents it. The main clause’s subject is not automatically the actor of every activity phrase inside that sentence.
Cantonese progressive and experiential markers answer different questions
The CUHK materials accompanying Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar illustrate 嗰陣時呢棟樓仲起緊: at that time the block was still being built. The progressive marker 緊 does not force present time; the opening time expression places the ongoing construction in the past. A Finnish narrative can therefore preserve an earlier activity as ongoing without turning it into a current event.
The materials separately illustrate 你食過醉雞未呀?, asking whether someone has ever eaten drunken chicken. Here 過 presents earlier experience rather than an activity currently in progress. A Finnish question about previous experience should not receive the same interpretation as a report that someone is eating now. These examples show why selecting a marker from an English label such as progressive or perfect is insufficient on its own. Keep the source time frame, the actor of the relevant activity and whether the message concerns unfolding activity or prior experience distinct while building the Cantonese construction.
Language references