Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Viime vuonna myynti oli hyvä.
What case is vuonna and why do we say viime vuonna instead of viime vuosi?
Vuonna is the inessive case of vuosi (“year”), so it literally means “in the year.” To say “last year,” you put viime (“last”) before the inessive form: viime vuonna = “in the last year” = “last year.”
Why is there no article like “the” or “a” before myynti?
Finnish has no definite or indefinite articles. Nouns stand alone, and you determine specificity from context. So myynti can mean “sales,” “the sales,” or “a sale” depending on the situation.
Why is myynti singular and not plural (myynnit)?
In Finnish, “sales” in a general or collective sense is treated as an uncountable noun, so you use the singular myynti. If you wanted to refer to distinct sales transactions, you could say myynnit (“the sales deals”).
Why does the sentence use oli instead of on?
On is present tense (“is”), whereas oli is past tense (“was”). Since the sentence refers to viime vuonna (last year), you need the past tense: myynti oli hyvä = “sales were good.”
Why is hyvä used instead of hyvin?
Hyvä is an adjective (“good”) that describes the noun myynti. Hyvin is an adverb (“well”) and would modify a verb. After a copula like olla (“to be”), you use an adjective to describe the subject: myynti oli hyvä = “sales were good,” not “sales were well.”
Shouldn’t hyvä change form to agree with myynti in case or number?
Adjectives do agree in case and number when they directly modify a noun (e.g. hyvä tuote, hyvät tuotteet). But in predicative position after olla, the adjective takes the same basic form as the subject, here nominative singular, so it remains hyvä.
Can I rearrange the sentence, for example Myynti oli viime vuonna hyvä or Myynti viime vuonna oli hyvä?
Yes. Finnish word order is flexible. Placing viime vuonna at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end shifts emphasis but doesn’t change the basic meaning.
How do I pronounce the double vowels in viime and vuonna, and where is the stress?
In Finnish, double vowels are long: ii in viime is held longer ([i:]) and uu in vuonna is similarly long ([u:]). Stress always falls on the first syllable of a word, so you pronounce VIIME and VUONNA with emphasis on “VI” and “VU.”