Breakdown of Minulla ei ole kameraa täällä.
olla
to be
minä
I
täällä
here
ei
no / not (negative verb)
kamera
camera
Questions & Answers about Minulla ei ole kameraa täällä.
Why do we use minulla instead of minä?
In Finnish, there is no verb for "to have". To say "I have" or "I do not have", you use the adessive case ending -lla/-llä on the owner, meaning "at" or "on". So, minulla literally means "at me".
If I am the one who doesn't have the camera, why is the verb ei ole instead of en ole?
In possession sentences, the owner (minulla) is not the grammatical subject. The verb always stays in the "it" form (third-person singular). Therefore, we use ei ole (it is not) instead of en ole (I am not). The sentence literally translates to "At me is not a camera here."
Why is the word for camera kameraa instead of just kamera?
When you say you do not have something, the thing you don't have must be in the partitive case. We add the partitive ending -a to kamera to make kameraa. If you did have a camera, it would just be in the basic nominative form: Minulla on kamera (I have a camera).
Could I use tässä instead of täällä for "here"?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Täällä means "here" in a general or wider sense, like "in this area" or "at this location". Tässä means "right here" in a very specific, narrow spot (like your pocket or right in front of you). When saying you don't have a camera with you at this location, täällä is the most natural choice.
Learn Minulla ei ole kameraa täällä and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free