Pankkiautomaatti on kadun kulmassa.

The ATM is at the corner of the street.

Breakdown of Pankkiautomaatti on kadun kulmassa.

• olla: to be
• -ssa: in
• katu: the street
• kulma: the corner
• pankkiautomaatti: the ATM

Questions & Answers about Pankkiautomaatti on kadun kulmassa.

What does pankkiautomaatti mean, and why is it written as one long word?

Pankkiautomaatti literally combines pankki (“bank”) + automaatti (“machine”), so it means “ATM” or “bank machine.” Finnish often forms compounds by simply sticking words together without spaces.

Why is kadun in the genitive case (–n ending)?

Kadun is the genitive form of katu (“street”). It shows possession or belonging: kadun kulma means “the corner of the street.” In Finnish, the thing you’re “in” or “on” often takes genitive when it modifies another noun.

What case is kulmassa, and what does it tell us?

Kulmassa is in the inessive case (–ssa ending), which means “in” or “inside.” So kulmassa = “in the corner.”

Why don’t we see any words meaning “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Finnish doesn’t use articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are inferred from context or added particles, not separate words like the or a.

Why is there no preposition like “in” or “at” before kadun kulmassa?

Finnish expresses spatial relations with cases (here, genitive + inessive) rather than separate prepositions. The case endings tell you “in,” “on,” “at,” etc.

Could you flip the word order—say, Kadun kulmassa on pankkiautomaatti?

Yes. That order shifts emphasis slightly (focusing first on the location). Both are grammatically correct:

• Pankkiautomaatti on kadun kulmassa. (Neutral, subject‐verb‐locative)
• Kadun kulmassa on pankkiautomaatti. (Location‐verb‐subject, emphasizing “in the corner of the street, there’s an ATM.”)

Why is on used here instead of something like sijaitsee (“is located”)?

On is the basic verb “is.” It’s very common for stating existence or location. Sijaitsee is more formal or technical but less frequent in everyday speech.

Can I say kadulla instead of kadun kulmassa to mean “on the street”?

Kadulla would just mean “on the street” or “along the street,” not specifically “at the corner.” If you want “at the corner,” you need kulmassa.

How would I ask “Where is the ATM?” in Finnish?

You’d say Missä pankkiautomaatti on?

• Missä = “where (at/in)”
• pankkiautomaatti = “ATM”
• on = “is”

If I wanted to say “There is an ATM at the corner of the street,” how would that look?

You could use the existential construction (Siellä) on pankkiautomaatti kadun kulmassa. The siellä (“there”) is optional:

• (Siellä) on pankkiautomaatti kadun kulmassa.