Minä kuumennan kahvia.

I heat the coffee.

Breakdown of Minä kuumennan kahvia.

• minä: I
• kahvi: the coffee
• kuumentaa: to heat

Questions & Answers about Minä kuumennan kahvia.

Why is the verb kuumennan ending in -n?

Because -n is the 1st person singular ending in Finnish. It shows that the subject is I.

• kuumentaa = to heat
• kuumennan = I heat / I am heating

So even without minä, the verb already tells you the subject is I.

Is minä necessary here?

Not always. Finnish often leaves the subject pronoun out when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

So both of these are possible:

• Minä kuumennan kahvia.
• Kuumennan kahvia.

The version with minä can sound more explicit or emphatic, like I am heating coffee.

What is the dictionary form of kuumennan?

The dictionary form is kuumentaa, meaning to heat.

This sentence uses the present-tense 1st person singular form:

• kuumentaa → kuumennan

So if you look the word up in a dictionary, you would search for kuumentaa.

Why is it kahvia and not kahvi?