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Questions & Answers about Peruna kasvaa maassa.
Why is peruna in the singular here instead of the plural?
In Finnish, it is very common to use the singular form to make a general statement about a species, crop, or category. While English often uses the plural to say 'Potatoes grow...', Finnish uses the singular peruna to talk about the potato as a general concept.
I learned that maa means 'country'. How do I know it means 'ground' here?
Maa is a versatile word that can mean country, earth, ground, land, or soil. You have to rely on context. Since the sentence is about a plant growing, the physical 'soil' or 'ground' is the only natural meaning.
Could I use the adessive case and say maalla instead of maassa?
No, because maalla has specific idiomatic meanings: it usually means 'in the countryside' or 'on land' (as opposed to being at sea). To say that something is physically inside the soil, you must use the inessive case maassa.
Can I use kasvaa to say that I grow potatoes?
No, kasvaa is an intransitive verb, meaning the subject itself does the growing (the potato grows). If you want to say that a person is growing or cultivating a plant, you need the transitive verb kasvattaa. For example: Minä kasvatan perunoita.