Minulla on puhdas vesi.

I have clean water.

Breakdown of Minulla on puhdas vesi.

• minä: I
• vesi: the water
• puhdas: clean

Questions & Answers about Minulla on puhdas vesi.

Why is it "Minulla" instead of "Minä"?

"Minulla" is the adessive case form of "minä." In Finnish, possession is typically expressed by using the adessive pronoun plus the third-person singular of the verb "olla" (to be). So "Minulla on..." literally means "On me is..." but translates to "I have..." in English.

Why do we say "puhdas vesi" instead of "puhdasta vettä"?

In Finnish, we often use the nominative form "puhdas vesi" when referring to something in a general, complete sense—here, it's simply stating that the water is clean. If you wanted to focus on an indefinite amount of clean water, you might use the partitive ("puhdasta vettä") to indicate some quantity, but that's not the focus here.

Why do we use "on" instead of "olen"?

In Finnish, for possession, the verb "on" is used with the adessive form ("Minulla"). The verb "olen" is reserved for first-person singular statements like "Minä olen..." (I am...). So we stick with "Minulla on..." for "I have...".

Is word order important in this sentence?

Yes. The typical structure for possession in Finnish is:
• Adessive pronoun (e.g., "Minulla")
• Verb "on"
• What is possessed (e.g., "puhdas vesi")

Though Finnish word order can be somewhat flexible, this structure is the standard and most straightforward way to say "I have clean water."