Pomo puhuu suomea.

to speak

Breakdown of Pomo puhuu suomea.

• suomi: Finnish
• pomo: the boss

Questions & Answers about Pomo puhuu suomea.

Why does pomo have no article in Finnish?

Finnish doesn’t use articles (like “a” or “the” in English) at all. So to express “the boss” or “a boss”, you simply say pomo.

Why is it puhuu and not puhua?

Puhua is the basic infinitive form (to speak). In the sentence, we need the present-tense, third-person singular form, which is puhuu (“(he/she) speaks”).

Why does suomea end with -a?

This -a is the partitive ending. In Finnish, if you’re talking about speaking a language (without specifying a complete or bounded quantity), you generally use the partitive case, which here is suomea (Finnish).

Can I say suomea puhuu pomo instead?

Yes, Finnish word order is quite flexible. Suomea puhuu pomo might sound more poetic or dramatic. The most neutral order is pomo puhuu suomea, but both are grammatically correct.

How would I say The boss doesn’t speak Finnish?

To negate the verb, you use ei plus the verb stem in the present tense. For a third-person singular subject (pomo), that becomes ei puhu. So, it’s Pomo ei puhu suomea.