Learn Hardcore Finnish: Kannettava tietokoneeni on pöydällä, mutta akku on tyhjä. - My laptop is on the table, but the battery is empty.

Kannettava is a verbal adjective (sometimes called a participle/adjective form) formed by adding the suffix -VA to the stem of kantaa (to carry). Literally it means “that which can be carried,” i.e. portable. Hence kannettava tietokone = “portable computer.”

What does the suffix -ni in tietokoneeni indicate, and is minun necessary?

The ending -ni is a possessive suffix meaning “my.” It attaches directly to the noun:

tietokone = computer
tietokone-ni = my computer

You can also say minun tietokoneeni, but the minun (my) is optional and mainly used for extra emphasis or clarity.

Why does pöytä take the ending -llä in pöydällä, and what does that case express?

-LLA/-LLÄ marks the adessive case, which in Finnish conveys a static location “on” or “at.” So:

pöytä (table) → pöydällä = “on the table.”

Finnish uses cases instead of prepositions, and the adessive is the normal way to say “on top of” or “on.”

Why is akku in its basic form in akku on tyhjä, and why is tyhjä not in a locative case like pöydällä?

In the clause akku on tyhjä, akku is the subject and therefore appears in the nominative (no extra ending). The adjective tyhjä is a predicate adjective with the copula on (“is”), so it also appears in the nominative and agrees in number with its subject (singular → tyhjä). Only adverbials of place take locative cases like -llä, not the adjectives or subjects.

Why are there no articles like a or the in Finnish, as seen in this sentence?

Finnish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness (a/the) is inferred from context, word order or possessive suffixes. For example, akku on tyhjä can mean “the battery is empty” or “a battery is dead,” depending on what you know from context.

Why is the verb on repeated in both clauses, and can it be omitted in the second clause?

Each independent clause in Finnish requires its own finite verb. Even though English sometimes omits “is” in coordinated clauses (“My laptop is on the table, but the battery Ø dead”), Finnish normally repeats it:

…on pöydällä, mutta akku on tyhjä.

Omitting the second on would sound ungrammatical in standard Finnish.

Could you change the word order to Pöydällä on kannettava tietokoneeni, and how does that affect emphasis?

Yes—Finnish word order is relatively free. Starting with Pöydällä (“On the table”) shifts emphasis onto the location:

“On the table is my laptop.”

The neutral order kannettava tietokoneeni on pöydällä simply states the fact without extra focus on “table.”

What’s the difference between the formal kannettava tietokone and the colloquial läppäri?

Kannettava tietokone is the standard/formal term for “portable computer.” Läppäri is a colloquial borrowing from English laptop and is very common in everyday speech. Both mean the same device, but läppäri sounds more relaxed or spoken.