Learn Finnish: Puistossa on vanha ihminen. - There is an old person in the park.

Puistossa on vanha ihminen.

There is an old person in the park.

Breakdown of Puistossa on vanha ihminen.

Questions & Answers about Puistossa on vanha ihminen.

Why doesn't the sentence start with a word for "there"?

Finnish doesn't use a dummy word like "there" for these sentences. To say "there is [something] in [a place]", you use an existential clause: you start with the location (puistossa), follow it with the verb (on), and put the subject (vanha ihminen) at the end.

What does the -ssa ending on puistossa mean?

The -ssa ending means "in" or "inside" (this is called the inessive case). It attaches directly to the basic word puisto (park) to make puistossa (in the park). Starting the sentence with this location is the classic way to build a "there is" sentence in Finnish.

Why are vanha and ihminen in their basic forms?

In an existential clause, the thing or person existing in the location is the subject, and it stays in the basic dictionary form (the nominative case) when it's a single countable thing. Since vanha (old) is an adjective describing ihminen (person), they both stay in that basic form together.

If there were multiple old people, would the verb change to ovat (are)?

No, and this is a special rule for Finnish! In sentences that start with a location to say "there is" or "there are" (existential clauses), the verb is always the singular on. Even if there were many people in the park, the verb would stay as on.