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Questions & Answers about Poika istuu kentällä.
Why does the word for field (kenttä) end in -llä here?
The ending -llä is the adessive case, which translates to "on" or "at" an open surface or external location. Since the boy is sitting on the field, we add this ending.
Why does the ending use ä (-llä) instead of a (-lla)?
This is because of vowel harmony. The word kenttä contains the front vowels e and ä, so any endings attached to it must also use front vowels. That gives us -llä instead of the back-vowel ending -lla.
The dictionary form of "field" is kenttä (with a double tt). Why does kentällä only have one t?
This happens because of consonant gradation. Adding the -llä ending creates a closed syllable (ken-täl-lä). In Finnish, this often causes strong consonants (like the double tt) to "weaken" into a short consonant (a single t).
How do I know whether istuu means "sits" or "is sitting"?
You just have to tell from the context! Finnish does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Poika istuu translates perfectly to both "The boy sits" and "The boy is sitting."