Maljakko on korkea.

The vase is tall.

Breakdown of Maljakko on korkea.

• olla: to be
• korkea: tall
• maljakko: the vase

Questions & Answers about Maljakko on korkea.

What does each word in Maljakko on korkea do?

• maljakko = a noun, the subject of the sentence
• on = the verb to be in the he/she/it is form
• korkea = an adjective, describing the subject

So the structure is:

subject + verb + adjective

This is a very common Finnish sentence pattern.

What form is on?

On is the 3rd person singular form of olla (to be).

A few common forms are:

• olen = I am
• olet = you are
• on = he/she/it is
• olemme = we are
• olette = you all are
• ovat = they are

Here, the subject maljakko is singular, so Finnish uses on.

Why is there no word for a or the?

Finnish does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So maljakko can mean:

• a vase
• the vase

Which one is intended depends on context.

That is very normal in Finnish, and learners often need time to get used to it.