Questions & Answers about Kaupunki on tylsä syksyllä.
Why does the word for 'in the autumn' end in -llä? I thought that meant 'on'.
While the -lla/-llä ending (the adessive case) often means 'on', Finnish also uses it for seasons and times of day to mean 'in' or 'during'. So syksy (autumn) becomes syksyllä (in the autumn).
Why do we use -llä instead of -lla for syksyllä?
This happens because of vowel harmony. The word syksy has the vowel y, which is a front vowel. Front vowels require the grammatical ending to also use a front vowel, so we attach -llä.
Why doesn't the adjective tylsä have a matching ending?
It actually does match! The noun it describes, kaupunki (city), is in its basic dictionary form. Because adjectives must match the form of their nouns, tylsä stays in its basic dictionary form as well.
Can I start the sentence with syksyllä?
Yes! You can say Syksyllä kaupunki on tylsä. Moving the time word to the front just shifts the emphasis to the season, giving it the feel of 'In the autumn, the city is boring.'