Breakdown of Minä olen kotona, mutta nuo koirat ovat ulkona.
olla
to be
koira
dog
minä
I
mutta
but
kotona
at home
ulkona
outside
nuo
those (over there)
Questions & Answers about Minä olen kotona, mutta nuo koirat ovat ulkona.
Why use nuo for "those" instead of ne?
In Finnish, nuo specifically means "those over there" when you can physically see or point to them. Ne usually translates to "they", but can also mean "those" in a more general sense or when talking about things that are not currently in sight.
How do we make the word for dog plural here?
You simply add a -t to the end of the basic word koira to make it koirat (dogs). This is the standard way to make plural nouns when they are the main subject of the sentence.
Why is the verb ovat instead of on?
Because the subject nuo koirat is plural, the verb to be (olla) must match it. The 3rd person plural form is ovat (they are). Note that in everyday spoken Finnish, you will often hear people use the singular on for plurals (like nuo koirat on), but ovat is the correct standard form you are learning here.
Is there a connection between the words kotona (at home) and ulkona (outside) ending the same way?
Yes! The -na ending is used in some common words to describe being in a fixed location or state. At this level, it is easiest to just memorize kotona and ulkona as set vocabulary words rather than worrying about the specific grammar case behind them.
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