Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Vene on iso ja kallis.
Why is there no article like a or the in this sentence?
Finnish has no definite or indefinite articles. Whether something is “a” or “the” is understood from context or added with demonstratives (e.g. se for “that”).
Why is there no subject pronoun se before on?
In Finnish the verb ending shows who the subject is. Here on is third-person singular, so adding se (“it”) is optional and often omitted.
Why do the adjectives iso and kallis follow the verb on instead of preceding the noun vene?
They are used predicatively (“is big”, “is expensive”). Predicative adjectives in Finnish come after the copula on. Attributive adjectives (when they directly modify a noun) would precede it, e.g. iso vene (“big boat”).
How do adjectives agree with nouns in Finnish? Why are iso and kallis in this form?
Adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they describe. Here vene is nominative singular, so both iso and kallis also appear in nominative singular.
How would I ask “Is the boat big and expensive?” in Finnish?
Attach the question suffix -ko/-kö to the verb:
Onko vene iso ja kallis?
How do I make the sentence negative?
Use the negative verb ei plus the base of olla. The first part becomes Vene ei ole iso. To add the second adjective you use eikä (“nor”):
Vene ei ole iso eikä kallis.
Is a comma needed between iso and kallis?
No. Finnish does not require a comma before ja in a simple list, so iso ja kallis is correct without a comma.