Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Lentokone lentää korkealla.
Why is there no article before lentokone?
Finnish has no definite or indefinite articles like a, an or the. Whether lentokone means a plane or the plane comes from context, not from a separate word.
Why is lentokone written as one word?
Finnish frequently combines two nouns into a compound. Here lento (flight) + kone (machine) → lentokone (airplane). The main stress stays on the first element: LENTO-kone.
What case is korkealla, and what does it tell me?
korkealla is the adessive case of korkea (high). Locative cases answer questions like Missä? (Where?). So lentää korkealla means the plane is flying at a high altitude (“on something high”).
Why didn’t the learner use an adverb ending in -sti, like korkeasti?
Adverbs in -sti typically answer Miten? (How?). Here we want Missä? (Where? → at what height), so Finnish uses a locative case (korkealla) instead of an -sti-adverb.
Which verb type is lentää, and why does its present form look the same as its infinitive?
lentää (to fly) is a type I verb (infinitive ends in -ää). Its third-person singular present is also lentää (“(it) flies”), so the infinitive and 3rd sing. pres. coincide. Context tells you whether it’s “to fly” or “(it) flies.”
How would I turn this into a yes/no question: “Does the plane fly high?”
Attach the question particle -ko/-kö to the word you put first. For example:
Lentääkö lentokone korkealla?
Literally “Flies-Q plane at-high?”
Why is there no object, and why is lentokone in the nominative case?
The verb lentää is intransitive in Finnish—it doesn’t take a direct object. lentokone is simply the subject and stays in the nominative.
Can I change the word order in “Lentokone lentää korkealla”?
Yes. Finnish word order is fairly free. S-V-O (lentokone lentää korkealla) is neutral. You can front korkealla for emphasis (Korkealla lentokone lentää) or put the verb first (Lentää lentokone korkealla) to highlight the flying action.