Bussi menee sillan yli.

The bus goes over the bridge.

Breakdown of Bussi menee sillan yli.

• mennä: to go
• bussi: the bus
• silta: the bridge
• yli: over

Questions & Answers about Bussi menee sillan yli.

Why is sillan in the genitive case and not in the nominative?

Because yli is a postposition that requires its complement to be in the genitive. In Finnish, words like yli (over, across) follow the noun and govern the genitive case to show movement across something.

What kind of word is yli? Is it a preposition like in English?

Finnish doesn’t have prepositions in the English sense but uses postpositions. Yli is a postposition, so it comes after the noun instead of before it (unlike English “over”).

Why isn’t sillan in the partitive case? English doesn’t mark case, so I’m confused.

The partitive case in Finnish marks incomplete actions, indefinite quantities, or ongoing aspects. Here sillan isn’t an object being affected by the verb but the target of the postposition yli, so it takes the genitive, not the partitive.

Could I say bussi kulkee sillan yli instead of bussi menee sillan yli? What’s the difference?

Yes. Kulkea (“to traverse, pass along”) and mennä (“to go”) both express movement.

• Bussi kulkee sillan yli often appears in route descriptions or timetables (emphasizes the route).
• Bussi menee sillan yli is more general and simply states that the bus goes over the bridge.

Can I use ylitse instead of yli here?

Ylitse is an adverb meaning “over” or “across,” often used with verbs like hypätä (“to jump”). With vehicles or normal passage, yli + genitive is more common.

• Bussi menee sillan ylitse is grammatically correct but a bit less usual than Bussi menee sillan yli.

Why is bussi in the nominative case? Could it be different?

Bussi is the subject of the sentence, so it takes the nominative singular. In Finnish, the subject of an affirmative sentence is normally in the nominative.

There are no articles (“a,” “the”) in Finnish. How do I know if sillan means “the bridge” or “a bridge”?

Finnish has no definite or indefinite articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness comes from context. Sillan can mean “the bridge” if you’ve already mentioned it, or “a bridge” if it’s new information.

How would I say “The buses go over the bridges” (plural)?

You pluralize both the noun and verb, and use the genitive plural for sillat:
Bussit menevät siltojen yli.
Here bussit is nominative plural, menevät is the verb in plural, siltojen is genitive plural, and yli stays the same.