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More from this lesson
Questions & Answers about Anna on ystäväni.
Why is there no separate word for "my" in Anna on ystäväni?
In Finnish, possession can be shown by attaching a possessive suffix to a noun. In ystäväni, the suffix -ni indicates "my". This replaces the need for a separate word like "my".
Could I say Anna on minun ystävä instead?
Yes, you could say Anna on minun ystävä and be understood. However, adding the possessive suffix -ni to a noun (making ystäväni) is more natural in everyday Finnish.
Is Anna here the name or the imperative form of the verb "to give"?
In this sentence, Anna is a name. Even though anna can be the imperative of the verb "to give" in Finnish, context makes it clear that we’re talking about a person’s name.
Why doesn’t Finnish use an indefinite article like “a” or a definite article like “the”?
Finnish doesn’t have articles. The meaning that English expresses with “a” and “the” is typically conveyed through context or other grammatical means (like case endings or possessive suffixes).
What’s the basic word order in this sentence?
Finnish often follows a Subject–Verb–Complement structure. So in Anna on ystäväni, Anna is the subject, on is the verb (“is”), and ystäväni (“my friend”) is the complement.