Questions & Answers about Auto on ulkona.
Why is there no word for "the" before auto?
Finnish does not have articles like "a" or "the". The word auto can mean either "a car" or "the car" depending on the context. Here we know it means "the car" because it is the specific subject of the sentence.
This lesson teaches plural verbs like ovat. Why is the verb on used here?
Because auto is singular (just one car), it takes the third-person singular verb on (is). If we were talking about multiple cars, the sentence would use the plural form from this lesson: Autot ovat ulkona (The cars are outside).
If I want to say "It is outside", which pronoun do I use to replace auto?
You must use se (it). Finnish strictly separates people and things in the third person. You use hän (he/she) only for people, and se for animals and objects like a car. The sentence would become Se on ulkona.
Does ulkona change if the car is driving out of a garage?
Yes! Finnish uses different words for being in a place versus moving to a place. Ulkona means the car is already parked or located outside. If the car is moving from inside to outside, you must use the destination word ulos.
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