Log inSign up

Sopimus on tärkeä.

Sopimus on tärkeä.
The contract is important.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Finnish
…

Breakdown of Sopimus on tärkeä.

olla
to be
tärkeä
important
sopimus
the contract

Questions & Answers about Sopimus on tärkeä.

Why is there no article before sopimus or tärkeä?
Finnish does not use definite or indefinite articles like a / an / the. Nouns and adjectives stand alone, and context tells you whether something is specific or general.
What case is sopimus in, and why?
Sopimus is in the nominative singular. In a simple affirmative sentence with olla (to be), the subject appears in nominative case.
Why is tärkeä not inflected further?
As the predicate adjective, tärkeä agrees with the subject in number and case. Since sopimus is nominative singular, tärkeä is also nominative singular.
What does on mean here?
On is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb olla (to be). So sopimus on tärkeä literally means “contract is important,” i.e. “the contract is important.”
How would you ask “Is the contract important?” in Finnish?

Invert the verb and the subject:
Onko sopimus tärkeä?

How do you negate this sentence to say “The contract is not important”?

Use the negative auxiliary verb ei plus the main verb in its infinitive form:
Sopimus ei ole tärkeä.

How can you make the sentence stronger, e.g. “The contract is very important”?

Add an adverb of degree before tärkeä, for example:
Sopimus on erittäin tärkeä.
Other options include todella, hyvin, huomattavan.

Can you change the word order to emphasize tärkeä?

Yes. Placing tärkeä first highlights it:
Tärkeä on sopimus.
However, the neutral order is Subject–Verb–Predicate: Sopimus on tärkeä.

How do you say “The contract is important to us”?

Add a personal pronoun in the allative/adessive case:
Sopimus on meille tärkeä.
Here meille means “to us.”

What happens if you want to say “Some contracts are important”?

You must pluralize both noun and adjective, still in nominative:
Sopimukset ovat tärkeitä.
Note that on becomes ovat (3rd-person plural).

More from this lesson

valmistaakakkuTänään valmistan pienen kakun ystävälleni.uusi rakennuskeskustassaMinä juon kahvia keskustassa.korkeaUusi rakennus keskustassa on todella korkea.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Finnish grammar?”
Finnish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Finnish

Master Finnish — from Sopimus on tärkeä to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Finnish freeBrowse the full course