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Questions & Answers about Tämä on kahvia.
Why is the word for coffee here kahvia instead of the basic dictionary form kahvi?
Kahvia is in the partitive case. In Finnish, when you are identifying an uncountable mass or substance (like coffee, water, or air) with 'This is...', you must use the partitive case. It is like saying 'This is some coffee' in English.
Why do we add -a to make the partitive form of this word?
The dictionary form is kahvi, which ends in a single short vowel. For most words that end in a single vowel, you form the partitive by simply attaching -a (or -ä) to the end.
Why does it take the -a ending instead of -ä?
Because of vowel harmony! The word kahvi contains the back vowel a, so the ending must also be the back vowel -a. The letter i is a neutral vowel and doesn't change this rule.
Would it be wrong to just say Tämä on kahvi?
It would sound strange if you are just pointing out the liquid in a pot. Tämä on kahvi means 'This is a coffee' (like a specific brand or a conceptual type of coffee). When talking about food or drink as a general substance, always use the partitive kahvia.