Luonto on tärkeä.

to be

Breakdown of Luonto on tärkeä.

• tärkeä: important
• luonto: the nature

Questions & Answers about Luonto on tärkeä.

What does Luonto mean exactly?

Luonto means nature, i.e. the natural world—plants, animals, landscapes and ecosystems.

What is the function of on in this sentence?

on is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb olla (to be), so it translates as is.

Why is tärkeä in the nominative singular?

In Finnish, adjectives used predicatively (after the verb olla) agree in case and number with their subject. Since Luonto is singular nominative, the adjective also takes singular nominative (tärkeä). If the subject were plural, you’d say tärkeitä.

Why are there no words for “the” or “a” in the sentence?

Finnish does not use definite or indefinite articles. A bare noun in the nominative (like Luonto) can mean “nature,” “the nature,” or “nature in general,” depending on context.

How do I pronounce Luonto on tärkeä correctly?

Pronounce it roughly as [ˈluon.to on ˈtær.kæ]. The primary stress is always on the first syllable of each word. The diphthong uo sounds like [u̯o], and ä like [æ].