Tänään ilma on lämmin.

to be

Breakdown of Tänään ilma on lämmin.

• tänään: today
• ilma: the air
• lämmin: warm

Questions & Answers about Tänään ilma on lämmin.

What is the function of Tänään in the sentence?

Tänään is a temporal adverb that means "today." It sets the time frame for the statement and, by appearing at the beginning of the sentence, it emphasizes when the state or condition applies.

What does ilma mean in this context, and why might it be confusing for learners?

Ilma literally means "air" but is often used to refer to "weather" in Finnish. While the literal translation might mislead beginners, context shows that in this sentence it describes the weather being warm.

How is the verb on used in this sentence?

On is the third person singular form of the verb olla (to be). It functions as a linking verb or copula that connects the subject (ilma) with the predicate adjective (lämmin).

Why does the adjective lämmin appear in its base form without any endings?

When used as a predicate adjective after a linking verb like on, lämmin remains uninflected. Finnish adjectives in predicative positions do not take additional case endings, which simplifies the structure.

How does the word order in Tänään ilma on lämmin differ from typical English word order?

Finnish word order is more flexible than English. In English, you might say "The air is warm today," placing the time element at the end. In Finnish, however, it is very common to begin with a time adverb—here Tänään—to set the context right away, even though the basic meaning remains the same.

Why is there no article before ilma in the sentence?

Finnish does not use articles like "a," "an," or "the." Consequently, ilma stands alone without any article, and the context of the sentence makes the meaning clear.