Kirjoituspöytäni on pieni mutta toimiva.

My desk is small but functional.

Breakdown of Kirjoituspöytäni on pieni mutta toimiva.

• olla: to be
• minun: my
• pieni: small
• mutta: but
• kirjoituspöytä: the desk
• toimiva: functional

Questions & Answers about Kirjoituspöytäni on pieni mutta toimiva.

What does the suffix -ni in kirjoituspöytäni indicate?

-ni is the 1st-person singular possessive suffix, equivalent to “my” in English. It attaches directly to the full noun (even a compound) and tells you that the desk belongs to the speaker:
• kirjoituspöytä (“writing desk”) → kirjoituspöytäni (“my writing desk”)

Why don’t I need to use minun before kirjoituspöytäni?

In Finnish the possessive suffix alone is usually enough to show “my,” “your,” etc. Adding minun (“my”) before the word would be grammatically correct but redundant. You’d only use minun for extra emphasis or clarity:
• Normal: Kirjoituspöytäni on pieni.
• Emphatic: Minun kirjoituspöytäni on pieni.

How is the compound kirjoituspöytä formed?

It’s a noun-noun compound made of:

1. kirjoitus (“writing” as a noun)
2. pöytä (“table”)
   The head of the compound is the second element (pöytä), so the entire word means “a type of table for writing.” In compounds you keep the first element in its basic form.

Why is the adjective pieni not pienä after on?

In Finnish predicative adjectives (those used with the copula on) normally take the nominative singular form. For pieni, the nominative is pieni; pienä would be the essive case (“as small”), which isn’t used here. So:
• Correct predicative: Kirjoituspöytäni on pieni.

What is toimiva, and why does it end in -va?

Toimiva is the present active participle of the verb toimia (“to work/function”), used adjectivally to mean “functional” or “operational.” The suffix -va turns the verb into an adjective-like form. As a predicative adjective it also appears in nominative singular:
• toimia → toimiva (“that which works/functional”)

Why is the conjunction mutta used instead of ja?

mutta means “but” and expresses a contrast: the desk may be small, yet it still works well. If you used ja (“and”), it would simply list two features without that nuance of concession or surprise.

Why is there no comma before mutta?

In Finnish you generally do not put a comma before a conjunction if it links words or short phrases. Both pieni and toimiva are part of the same predicate, so no comma is needed here.

Where is the stress in kirjoituspöytäni?

Finnish words always have primary stress on the first syllable. So you pronounce it as:
KIR-joitus-pöy-tä-ni

Could I say minun kirjoituspöytäni on pieni mutta toimiva?

Yes – it’s grammatically fine. You add minun only if you want to emphasize “my.” Otherwise the suffix -ni is sufficient.

How would I make an attributive phrase like “a small but functional desk”?

Place the adjectives before the noun and drop the copula:
• pieni mutta toimiva pöytä
If you need “my” here, you could say minun pieni mutta toimiva pöytäni, though normally you’d only use the suffix: pieni mutta toimiva pöytäni.