Breakdown of Luonto on rauhallinen kesäiltana.
olla
to be
rauhallinen
peaceful
luonto
the nature
kesäiltana
on a summer evening
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Questions & Answers about Luonto on rauhallinen kesäiltana.
Why isn’t there an article (like a or the) before luonto?
Finnish has no articles. Nouns appear without a or the, and definiteness or indefiniteness is conveyed through context, word order, or other grammatical markers. Here luonto simply means “nature” in a general sense.
What case is kesäiltana, and why is it used here?
It’s the essive case (singular), formed by adding -na to kesäilta (“summer evening”). The essive marks a temporary role or time—here it means “on a summer evening.”
Why is rau hallinen in the nominative case instead of, say, essive or partitive?
When an adjective follows the verb olla (“to be”) as a predicate, it agrees with the subject in the nominative case. So luonto on rauhallinen uses nominative rau hallinen. Using an essive like rauhallisena would change the construction and isn’t correct for a straightforward predicate.
Why does rau hallinen end with -nen?
Many Finnish adjectives in their base (dictionary) form end in -nen in the nominative singular. That -nen is part of the adjective stem and changes in other cases (e.g., rauhallisen, rauhallisessa).
Can I change the word order to Kesäiltana luonto on rauhallinen?
Yes. Finnish word order is flexible. Placing kesäiltana at the beginning emphasizes the time frame, but the overall meaning—“Nature is calm on a summer evening”—stays the same.
Why is luonto in the nominative case and not the partitive?
It’s the subject of the sentence, and subjects normally appear in the nominative case. The partitive is used for objects of certain verbs or for expressing partialness or ongoing actions. Since luonto is not an object but the subject, it’s in the nominative.