Learn Finnish: Lokit ovat äänekkäitä, mutta onhan maisema ihana. - Seagulls are loud, but the scenery is lovely, after all.

The -han clitic often translates to 'after all', 'as you know', or 'you must admit'. Here, the speaker is acknowledging the loud seagulls but pointing out a redeeming quality that the listener can also see. It makes the statement feel more like a shared observation rather than just stating a flat fact.

Why is the verb on placed before the subject maisema in the second half of the sentence?

This is because of the -han clitic! A clitic like -han or -hän must attach to the very first word of the clause, ignoring conjunctions like mutta. Because the speaker wants to attach the clitic to the verb, on gets moved to the front, changing the normal order from maisema on ihana to onhan maisema ihana.

Why is the adjective äänekkäitä in the partitive plural, while ihana is in the basic nominative form?

In Finnish, when you use the verb 'to be' to describe a plural subject like lokit (the seagulls), the describing adjective must be in the partitive plural (äänekkäitä). However, the second clause has a singular subject, maisema (the scenery), so its adjective stays in the basic nominative singular form (ihana).

How is the word äänekkäitä formed from its dictionary form?