Tuo kirja on vanha.

to be

Breakdown of Tuo kirja on vanha.

• vanha: old
• kirja: the book
• tuo: that

Questions & Answers about Tuo kirja on vanha.

Why is tuo used here instead of something like se?

In Finnish, tuo is often used to point to something that’s a bit farther away from the speaker, whereas se frequently refers to something close by or already previously mentioned. You can think of tuo as “that (over there)” and se as “it” or “that (previously known).”

How does the verb form on work in this sentence?

On is the third-person singular form of the verb olla (“to be”). It’s used when the subject is singular, as in Tuo kirja on vanha (“That book is old”). In Finnish, the verb must agree in person and number with the subject.

Is there any special case ending on kirja here?

In this sentence, kirja is in the basic (nominative) form. It serves as the subject of the sentence, so no extra case ending is needed. Finnish uses the nominative case for the subject of a simple sentence like this.

Why does vanha appear in this form rather than another form of the adjective?

Adjectives in Finnish agree with the noun they describe in both number and case. Here, vanha is singular and nominative, matching kirja which is also singular and nominative. Therefore, the adjective remains in its basic form: vanha.