Minulla on kolme euroa.

I

Breakdown of Minulla on kolme euroa.

• kolme: three
• euro: the euro

Questions & Answers about Minulla on kolme euroa.

Why is the phrase Minulla on used to express possession instead of simply saying Minä olen?

In Finnish, possession is shown with the verb olla (“to be”) plus the adessive case, not by saying “I am.” Minulla on literally means “at me is.” You wouldn’t use Minä olen (“I am”) to mean “I have.”

What case is minulla, and why is it used here?

Minulla is the adessive case (marked by -lla) of minä (“I”). In the possessive construction with olla, the owner or possessor always appears in the adessive case to indicate “at X.”

Why is the verb on singular even though there are three euros (which is plural)?

In this existential/possessive structure, olla always takes the 3rd person singular form (on), regardless of how many items you have. It functions like “there is/are (at me).”

Why is euroa in the partitive case instead of the nominative plural eurot?

After numerals greater than one, Finnish typically uses the partitive singular of the counted noun. So “three euros” becomes kolme euroa, where euroa is the partitive singular form.

How do you say “I don’t have three euros” in Finnish?