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Minulla on kortti.

Minulla on kortti.
I have a card.
FromLesson 7inHardcore Finnish
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Breakdown of Minulla on kortti.

minä
I
kortti
the card

Questions & Answers about Minulla on kortti.

What does Minulla on mean?
Literally “on me is”, but functionally “I have”. In Finnish you express possession with the adessive case on the pronoun plus the verb olla (“to be”). So minulla on = “there is X on me” = “I have X.”
Why is minulla used instead of minä?
Minä (“I”) changes to the adessive case to show the location of possession. The adessive suffix is -lla/-llä, so minä → minulla = “at/on me.” This signals that something “is on” you.
Who or what is the grammatical subject of the sentence?
The subject is kortti (“card”), not minulla. The verb on agrees with kortti (third singular). Minulla functions as a locative adverbial in adessive case.
Why is kortti in the nominative case here?
In positive existential/possessive sentences, the thing you have stands in the nominative as the subject. You only use partitive for unspecified/cardinal quantities (e.g. Minulla on kortteja = “I have cards”) or in negative sentences.
How do you ask “Do you have a card?” in Finnish?

You invert on and the pronoun, and typically use the partitive for the object if you want an unspecified amount:
Onko sinulla korttia?
Here sinulla = “on you,” onko = question form of on, korttia = partitive of kortti.

How do you say “I have cards” (plural) and “I don't have cards”?

Plural positive: Minulla on kortteja.
Negative: Minulla ei ole kortteja.
Note: In the negative, the noun stays in the partitive (kortteja) and the verb changes to ei ole.

How would you say “I have my card”?

Use a possessor suffix on the noun: Minulla on korttini.
Here -ni is the first-person singular possessive suffix, so kortti → korttini = “my card.”

How do you express the same idea with other people, e.g. “He has a card” or “We have a card”?

Replace the pronoun in adessive case:
Hänellä on kortti. = “He/She has a card.”
Meillä on kortti. = “We have a card.”
For “you” (singular) use sinulla, for plural teillä.

Can you change the word order, and does it affect the meaning?
Yes—Finnish is flexible. Kortti on minulla. still means “I have a card,” but placing kortti first adds emphasis to the card (as in “As for the card, I have it”).
How do you say “I don't have a card” and why is kortti now korttia?

You say Minulla ei ole korttia.
In negative sentences, Finnish requires the partitive for objects, so kortti → korttia.
The verb form also shifts to ei ole (negated “is not”).

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