Minulla on tili pankissa.

I have an account at the bank.

Breakdown of Minulla on tili pankissa.

• minä: I
• -ssa: in
• pankki: the bank
• tili: the account

Questions & Answers about Minulla on tili pankissa.

Why do we use minulla on to express “I have” instead of a separate verb for “to have”?

Finnish doesn’t have a standalone verb meaning have. Instead, possession is shown by combining the verb on (“is”) with the possessor in the adessive case.

• minulla = “at me” (adessive of minä, “I”)
• on = “is”
  Literally minulla on tili means “at me is an account,” which in English we render as “I have an account.”

What case is minulla, and how is it formed?

Minulla is in the adessive case (locative case III). You form it by adding the suffix -lla/-llä to the stem:

• minä → minä- + -llä → minulla
  In addition to location (“on me”), the adessive with on expresses possession.

Why is tili in the nominative case rather than the partitive?

In sentences with olla (“to be”) and an adessive possessor, the possessed item appears in the nominative singular when it’s a single, countable object:

• tili = “an account” (nominative)
  Using the partitive (tiliä) would imply incompleteness or an unspecified amount, which doesn’t fit here.

Why is pankissa in the inessive case, and what does that mean?

Pankissa is the inessive case of pankki (“bank”) formed with -ssa/-ssä. The inessive indicates being inside or at a location, so pankissa means “in the bank” or “at the bank.”

Finnish doesn’t have articles like “a” or “the.” How do I know whether tili is definite or indefinite?

Finnish simply omits articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context. In minulla on tili pankissa, tili means “an account” (indefinite) unless the conversation context makes it clear you’re referring to a specific account.

Can pankki and tili be combined into one word?

Yes. Finnish often forms noun compounds. Pankki + tili = pankkitili, meaning “bank account.” You could say Minulla on pankkitili. to mean the same thing more concisely.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Pankissa minulla on tili?

Finnish word order is relatively free and used for emphasis.

• Minulla on tili pankissa. is the neutral order.
• Pankissa minulla on tili. emphasizes where the account is (in the bank).
  All these orders are grammatically correct; the difference is one of nuance.

How would I ask “Do you have an account at the bank?” in Finnish?

Form a yes/no question by inverting on and the possessor, and use the second‐person pronoun:

• Onko sinulla tili pankissa? (“Do you have an account at the bank?”)
  More naturally, you might ask
• Onko sinulla pankkitili? (“Do you have a bank account?”)