Breakdown of He eivät ole sisällä.
olla
to be
he
they
sisällä
inside
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
Questions & Answers about He eivät ole sisällä.
Why is the phrase for 'are not' two words, eivät ole?
In Finnish, 'not' is a verb that changes depending on who is doing the action. For 'they' (he), the negative verb is eivät. To say 'are not', you pair it with ole, which is the special dictionary-like form (the connegative) of the verb olla (to be).
Does the word ole change if we change the pronoun from 'they' to 'I'?
No, it stays exactly the same! In negative sentences, only the negative verb changes to match the person (en, et, ei, etc.). The main verb loses its personal ending. So it is minä en ole (I am not) and he eivät ole (they are not).
Can I leave out the word he since eivät already tells us it means 'they'?
In standard Finnish, you should keep he. While you can safely drop the pronouns for 'I' and 'you' (like saying en ole instead of minä en ole), you generally must include the third-person pronouns hän (he/she) and he (they).
What does the -llä ending on sisällä mean?
The -llä ending is a location ending that usually means 'on' or 'at' a place. Here, it is attached to the root sisä- (inner or interior). So sisällä literally means 'on the inside', which is how you say 'inside' or 'indoors' in Finnish.