Ilta on pimeä.

to be

Breakdown of Ilta on pimeä.

• pimeä: dark
• ilta: the evening

Questions & Answers about Ilta on pimeä.

Why is there no article like “the” in front of “Ilta”?

Finnish doesn’t use definite or indefinite articles like English does. Ilta simply means “the evening,” “an evening,” or just “evening,” depending on context.

What role does “on” play in this sentence?

On is the third-person singular form of the verb olla (“to be”). It’s used here as a basic copula, linking the subject Ilta (“evening”) and the adjective pimeä (“dark”).

Why is the adjective in the form “pimeä” and not something else?

In Finnish, when describing a noun in a basic statement like this, the adjective remains in its nominative singular form. So you get Ilta on pimeä, literally “(The) evening is dark.”

How would I say it if I wanted to make it negative?

The negative sentence would be Ilta ei ole pimeä (“The evening is not dark”). Note that ei is the negative verb form, and you use ole instead of on in the negative.