Tämä paita sopii minulle.

This shirt suits me.

Breakdown of Tämä paita sopii minulle.

• tämä: this
• paita: the shirt
• minä: me
• sopia: to suit

Questions & Answers about Tämä paita sopii minulle.

What is the role of minulle in this sentence?

Minulle is the dative form of the pronoun minä (meaning "I"). In Finnish, the verb sopia (to suit/fit) requires a dative expression to indicate for whom something is appropriate. Here, minulle means "to me" or "for me," emphasizing that the shirt is a good fit for the speaker.

Why does the verb sopia take a dative object instead of a direct (accusative) object?

In Finnish, some verbs are structured to express suitability or appropriateness by taking a dative object. Sopia is one of these verbs. Rather than using an accusative object (as is common with many transitive verbs), you use the dative form (like minulle) to clearly indicate the person for whom something suits or fits.

How do the adjective tämä and the noun paita interact in this sentence?

In Finnish, adjectives always precede the nouns they modify and must agree with those nouns in case and number. Here, tämä means "this" and directly modifies paita ("shirt"). Both are in the nominative case—the nominative marks the subject of the sentence. Thus, Tämä paita translates directly to "this shirt."

How does the sentence structure in Finnish compare to the typical sentence structure in English?

The structure of this sentence is quite similar to English. It follows a subject–verb–(indirect object) pattern: Tämä paita (subject, "this shirt"), sopii (verb, "suits/fits"), and minulle (dative indirect object, "to me/for me"). Although Finnish allows for a more flexible word order, this basic structure mirrors that of English closely.

Could this sentence be phrased differently in Finnish while conveying the same meaning?

Yes, there are alternative ways to express the idea, but any rephrasing would still require a dative construction to show for whom the shirt is suitable. While you might add modifiers or change word order for emphasis, the verb sopia still needs a dative object—so minulle (or another appropriate dative form) remains essential to preserve the meaning.