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Questions & Answers about Ainoa ystäväni asuu kaukana.
Why isn’t there a word for the or a in Ainoa ystäväni asuu kaukana?
Finnish doesn’t use articles at all. You won’t find separate words for the or a. Instead, definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context, word order, or modifiers. Here, the adjective ainoa (“only”) makes it clear you’re talking about one unique friend.
Why is ystäväni written as one word, and what does the suffix -ni mean?
In Finnish, possession is shown with a suffix on the noun itself. -ni means “my.” So ystäväni literally translates to “friend-my,” i.e. “my friend.” You don’t need a separate word for “my.”
Why does the adjective ainoa end in -a even though ystäväni has the suffix -ni?
Adjectives agree with their noun in case and number. Despite the possessive suffix, ystäväni is in the nominative singular, so ainoa takes the nominative singular ending -a. Possessive suffixes don’t change the noun’s basic case for agreement.
What exactly is asuu, and why are there two u’s?
Asuu is the third-person singular present tense of asua (“to live”). The stem asu- ends in u, and the present-tense marker for he/she/it is also zero‐marked, so the stem vowel doubles: asu + u → asuu.
What kind of word is kaukana, and why isn’t there a preposition like far from?
Kaukana is an adverb meaning “far away.” Finnish often uses case or adverbial endings instead of prepositions. Here the stem kauka- takes the adessive/adverbial ending -na, giving kaukana (“at a distance, far away”).
Can I change the word order? For example, put ainoa after ystäväni?
Finnish word order is relatively free, but adjectives typically precede nouns. Saying Ystäväni ainoa asuu kaukana would sound awkward and break the normal adjective–noun unity. To emphasize ainoa, you could use intonation or move it to the very front:
• Ainoa ystäväni asuu kaukana. (neutral)
• Ainoa ystäväni asuu kaukana. (stress “only”)
How would I say “my only friends live far away” (plural)?
You need plural endings on both the adjective and the noun, plus the possessive suffix after the plural marker:
Ainoat ystäväni asuvat kaukana.
Here:
- ainoat = nominative plural of ainoa
- ystävät = “friends,” then + -ni → ystäväni becomes ystäväni? Actually attach -ni after ystävät → ystävätni (“my friends”)
- asuvat = 3rd-person plural present of asua