Learn Hardcore Finnish: Tietokone on kätevä.

On is the third-person singular form of the verb olla (to be). It functions as the copula that links the subject tietokone (computer) with the predicate adjective kätevä (handy), thereby forming a simple descriptive statement.

Why doesn’t the sentence include articles like “a” or “the” before tietokone?

Finnish does not have articles. Nouns appear in their bare form without accompanying words to indicate definiteness, so tietokone is used without an equivalent of the English “a” or “the.”

How does the adjective kätevä agree with the noun tietokone in this sentence?

In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun in case. Since tietokone is in the nominative case, the adjective kätevä also appears in its nominative form. Finnish adjectives do not change for gender and have a straightforward form in predicative use.

What is the basic sentence structure of "Tietokone on kätevä"?

The sentence follows a Subject-Copula-Predicate structure. Tietokone serves as the subject, on as the copular verb linking the subject to its description, and kätevä as the predicate adjective describing the subject.

Is Finnish word order as fixed as in English, and what does that mean for a sentence like this?

Finnish word order is relatively flexible because the language relies on its case system to indicate grammatical roles. However, the typical Subject-Copula-Predicate order—as used in "Tietokone on kätevä"—is standard for clear, straightforward statements. Changing the order can be used for emphasis without altering the core meaning.