Breakdown of Minä istun ulkona, koska ilma on viileä.
minä
I
olla
to be
ulkona
outside
koska
because
ilma
the air
viileä
cool
istua
to sit
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Questions & Answers about Minä istun ulkona, koska ilma on viileä.
What does each word in the sentence "Minä istun ulkona, koska ilma on viileä." mean in English?
In English, Minä means I, istun means sit (first-person singular form of istua), ulkona means outside or outdoors, koska means because, ilma means the air (or can imply the weather), on means is, and viileä means cool. Thus, the full translation is "I sit outside because the air is cool."
Why is the subject pronoun minä included even though the verb istun already indicates the subject?
In Finnish, the verb conjugation clearly shows who is performing the action, so including minä is not strictly necessary and is often omitted in everyday speech. However, it can be added for emphasis, clarity, or stylistic reasons. In this sentence, minä emphasizes that it is I who am sitting outside.
How is the adverb ulkona formed and what is its function in the sentence?
Ulkona functions as an adverb indicating location—in this case, outside or outdoors. It is formed by taking the concept of external or outside and adding an adverbial ending (in this instance, -na), which turns it into an adverb describing where the action is happening.
Why is there a comma before koska in the sentence?
In Finnish punctuation, a comma is used to separate the main clause from a subordinate clause. Koska ilma on viileä is a subordinate clause that explains the reason for the action in the main clause; hence, a comma is placed before koska.
What is the grammatical structure of the subordinate clause koska ilma on viileä?
The subordinate clause begins with koska, a subordinating conjunction meaning because. This is followed by ilma (the subject in the nominative case), then on (the third-person singular form of olla, meaning is), and finally viileä (a predicate adjective describing ilma). The clause functions to provide the reason or cause for the main action.
How does the adjective viileä agree with the noun ilma, and why does it remain unchanged?
The adjective viileä is in its nominative singular form, matching the noun ilma which is also in the nominative singular. In Finnish, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in number and case. Since there is no additional case marking on ilma, viileä remains unchanged.