Minä pyydän kahvia.

I

Breakdown of Minä pyydän kahvia.

• kahvi: the coffee
• pyytää: to ask

Questions & Answers about Minä pyydän kahvia.

What does the verb pyydän mean, and how is it formed?

"Pyydän" is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb pyytää, which means “to ask for” or “to request.” The ending -n clearly indicates that the subject is minä (“I”).

Why is the subject pronoun minä included in the sentence even though the verb ending already shows the subject?

In Finnish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb’s conjugation makes the subject clear. However, including minä can add emphasis or clarity, especially in teaching contexts, making it easier for learners to identify who is performing the action.

What case is used for kahvia, and why is it in that form?

The word kahvia is in the partitive case. Many Finnish verbs—especially those like pyytää that imply an incomplete or indefinite request—take their objects in the partitive. This form suggests that the speaker is asking for an unspecified amount of coffee rather than a single, complete unit.

Why doesn’t Finnish use articles (such as a or the) before nouns like kahvia?

Finnish does not have articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood through context, word order, and case endings rather than through the use of words like a or the.

Is the sentence Minä pyydän kahvia following typical Finnish word order, and what is that structure?

Yes, it follows the common Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. Minä is the subject, pyydän is the verb, and kahvia is the object in the partitive case, which is typical for many requests or actions involving indefinite quantities.