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Auto on raskas.

Auto on raskas.
The car is heavy.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Finnish
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Breakdown of Auto on raskas.

olla
to be
auto
the car
raskas
heavy

Questions & Answers about Auto on raskas.

What does on mean and what is its function in the sentence?
on is the third-person singular present form of the verb olla (“to be”). It links the subject auto to the predicate adjective raskas, so Auto on raskas literally means “The car is heavy.”
Why is there no word equivalent to “the” or “a” before auto?
Finnish has no definite or indefinite articles. Whether you mean “a car” or “the car” is understood from context or by adding a demonstrative (e.g. tämä auto for “this car”).
What case and number is auto in, and why is it used here?
auto is in the nominative singular. The nominative is the basic form used for the subject of a sentence, and it’s also the form you look up in a dictionary.
Why doesn’t raskas change its ending like raskaan or raskasta?
As a predicate adjective describing a nominative subject, raskas remains in the nominative singular. Endings like -n (genitive) or -a (partitive) appear only in other grammatical roles.
How would you make this sentence negative?

Use the negative verb ei in third-person singular and keep olla in its plain form: • Auto ei ole raskas.
Literally: “Car not is heavy.”

How do you form a yes/no question like “Is the car heavy?” in Finnish?

Invert the verb and subject or rely on intonation: • Onko auto raskas?
Word-for-word: “Is-car heavy?”

How do you express the plural, “Cars are heavy”?

Pluralize subject and verb (third-person plural of olla is ovat) and use the nominative plural adjective: • Autot ovat raskaat.
If you prefer a partitive plural predicate (less common here), you can also say Autot ovat raskaita.

How can I say “This car is heavy”?

Add the demonstrative tämä before auto: • Tämä auto on raskas.
This explicitly means “this car is heavy.”

Can I change the word order to emphasize something?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible for emphasis. For example: • Raskas auto on.
stresses raskas, sounding more poetic or dramatic. The neutral order is Auto on raskas.

How do I say “very heavy” to intensify the meaning?

Add an adverb like todella or erittäin before raskas: • Auto on todella raskas. (The car is really heavy.)
• Auto on erittäin raskas. (The car is extremely heavy.)

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