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Questions & Answers about Silmäni on vihreä.
Where is the word for "my" in Silmäni on vihreä?
In standard written Finnish, ownership is shown by adding a possessive suffix to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word. Here, the suffix -ni means "my". You just attach it to silmä (eye) to get silmäni (my eye).
Can I write minun silmäni instead?
Yes! You can add the separate word minun (my) in front for emphasis. However, in standard written Finnish, the suffix -ni is strictly required whether you use minun or not. Using silmäni all by itself is very common and perfectly complete.
How do we know silmäni means "my eye" and not "my eyes"?
You have to look at the rest of the sentence! The verb on (is) and the adjective vihreä (green) are both in the singular form. If the sentence were plural, it would be Silmäni ovat vihreät. When you add a possessive suffix like -ni to a basic plural word, the plural -t marker actually drops off, making the singular and plural forms of the noun look identical.
Do I need to change the word silmä before adding -ni?
Not here. Because silmä is in its basic dictionary form and ends in a vowel, you can just glue the -ni directly to the end of it. No tricky stem changes are needed for simple sentences like this.