Tämä vilkas katu on täynnä kahviloita.

to be

Breakdown of Tämä vilkas katu on täynnä kahviloita.

• tämä: this
• täynnä: full
• vilkas: lively
• katu: the street
• kahvila: the café

Questions & Answers about Tämä vilkas katu on täynnä kahviloita.

What does "Tämä vilkas katu on täynnä kahviloita" translate to in English?

It translates to "This busy street is full of cafes."

• Tämä means "this".
• vilkas means "busy" or "lively".
• katu means "street".
• on is the third-person singular of the verb "olla" (to be), meaning "is".
• täynnä means "full of".
• kahviloita means "cafes" in the partitive plural form.

Why is the noun kahviloita in the partitive case?

In Finnish, certain predicate adjectives—especially ones that describe a state like being "full"—require the complement noun to be in the partitive case. This usage emphasizes that the street is filled with cafes in an ongoing, non-absolute sense rather than implying a fixed, complete set.

How does adjective agreement work in the phrase "Tämä vilkas katu"?

In Finnish, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in number and case. Here, katu is in the nominative singular, so the demonstrative Tämä and the adjective vilkas are also in the nominative singular form. This agreement ensures that the description is grammatically correct and clearly linked to the noun.

What is the grammatical function of "on täynnä" in the sentence?

On täynnä serves as the predicate in the sentence. On is the third-person singular form of the verb "olla" (to be), linking the subject to its state. Täynnä is a predicative adjective describing the condition of the subject, indicating that it is "full of" something—in this case, cafes.

How flexible is word order in Finnish compared to English, based on this sentence?

Finnish allows for a more flexible word order than English thanks to its rich case system, which clearly marks the roles of words regardless of position. However, this sentence follows a straightforward subject–predicate structure: the subject is "Tämä vilkas katu" (this busy street), followed by the predicate "on täynnä kahviloita" (is full of cafes). Even though variations in word order are common in Finnish, using this clear structure helps maintain meaning and makes the sentence easier to understand, especially for learners.