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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].
What is vowel harmony and why does tärkeä end with ä?
Vowel harmony divides vowels into front (ä, ö, y), back (a, o, u), and neutral (e, i). Affixes and endings must harmonize with the stem’s vowels. Because the stem tärke- contains front vowels, its ending is -ä, not -a.
Can I change the word order for emphasis?
Yes. While the neutral order is Subject–Verb–Predicate (Luonto on tärkeä), saying Tärkeä on luonto places emphasis on tärkeä, giving a more poetic or emphatic tone (“Important is nature”).
How do I say “Nature is not important” in Finnish?
Use the negative form of olla with ei … ole. The subject stays nominative: Luonto ei ole tärkeä.
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