Breakdown of Tuntuu, että talvi on kylmä.
olla
to be
kylmä
cold
talvi
winter
että
that (conjunction)
tuntua
to feel
Questions & Answers about Tuntuu, että talvi on kylmä.
Why isn't there a word for "it" before tuntuu?
In Finnish, verbs that express a general impression, feeling, or weather often don't need a dummy subject like "it". Tuntuu simply translates to "it feels" or "it seems" all on its own. Adding se (se tuntuu) would sound unnatural here because there isn't a specific, physical object doing the feeling.
The translation says "feels like", but doesn't että mean "that"?
Yes, että means "that". A more literal translation of this sentence is "It feels that the winter is cold." In English, we usually say "feels like" in this context, but in Finnish, the verb tuntuu is very often followed by an että clause to explain exactly what the feeling or impression is.
Is the comma before että mandatory?
Yes! In Finnish, you must always put a comma before the conjunction että when it introduces a new subordinate clause (a phrase with its own verb, like talvi on kylmä). This punctuation rule is very strict in Finnish, unlike in English where we often leave out the comma before "that".
Why is kylmä in the basic form and not the partitive form (kylmää)?
Because the subject talvi (winter) is treated as a complete, countable thing here. When describing a specific noun like this, the adjective takes the basic nominative form. You would use the partitive kylmää if you were describing an uncountable mass substance (vesi on kylmää - water is cold), or describing the general weather without a subject noun (ulkona on kylmää - it is cold outside).
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