Metsä on vihreä ja rauhallinen.

to be

Breakdown of Metsä on vihreä ja rauhallinen.

• ja: and
• vihreä: green
• rauhallinen: peaceful

Questions & Answers about Metsä on vihreä ja rauhallinen.

What does metsä mean and why is there no article like the or a?

metsä means forest. Finnish does not use articles, so there is no direct equivalent of the or a. You simply rely on context. For example, Metsä on vihreä can mean the forest is green, a forest is green, or forest is green in general.

What case and number is metsä in, and how do I recognize that?

In Metsä on vihreä ja rauhallinen, metsä is in the nominative singular—the base form used for subjects. You recognize it by the fact that it has no extra ending (type A stems end in -ä or -a in the nominative singular) and it appears as the sentence’s subject.

What is on here and how do I use the verb olla (to be) in Finnish?

on is the 3rd person singular present tense of olla (to be), equivalent to English is. Whenever your subject is he, she, it or a singular noun like metsä, you use on (ol- + n).

Why are vihreä and rauhallinen in those forms, and how do adjectives agree with nouns in Finnish?