Vanha pöytä on kotona.

to be

Breakdown of Vanha pöytä on kotona.

• kotona: at home
• vanha pöytä: the old table

Questions & Answers about Vanha pöytä on kotona.

Why doesn’t the sentence use an article like the or a?

Finnish doesn’t have articles. Instead, context makes it clear whether something is specific or not. Vanha pöytä can mean the old table or an old table, depending on the situation.

Why is the adjective vanha placed before pöytä?

It’s the most common position for adjectives in Finnish: adjective + noun (e.g., vanha pöytä). You can also say pöytä on vanha, but that means the table is old (more like stating an attribute rather than naming the table with the adjective).

How do I know that on means is here?

On is the third-person singular present tense of the verb olla (to be). In Finnish, it’s used exactly where English would use is.

What does kotona mean precisely?

Kotona is the inessive form of koti (home). It means at home or in the home. It’s formed by adding the -na ending, indicating an internal location (being inside or within a place).

Does Finnish use a different word order for emphasizing something else?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible. If you wanted to emphasize the location strongly, you could say Kotona on vanha pöytä, translating to something like At home, there is an old table. The meaning remains similar but shifts the focus onto the home.