Questions & Answers about Pöydän pinta on sileä.
Why is sileä in the nominative case here instead of the partitive (sileää)?
The case of the adjective after the verb olla (to be) depends on the subject. Because pinta (surface) is a singular countable noun, the adjective describing it takes the nominative case (sileä). If the subject were an uncountable mass noun, like water, you would use the partitive case for the adjective (for example, Vesi on kylmää).
What is the difference between sileä and tasainen when talking about smooth things?
Sileä means smooth in terms of texture, meaning it feels smooth to the touch and isn't rough. Tasainen translates more closely to even or flat. A table's surface is usually both, but sileä specifically highlights the lack of friction or roughness.
Why does the word for table (pöytä) change to pöydän here?
To say of the table or the table's, Finnish uses the genitive case, which adds an -n to the end of the word. When you add this ending, it closes the final syllable, triggering consonant gradation. The strong t in pöytä softens to a d, resulting in pöydän.
Learn Pöydän pinta on sileä 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