Learn Hardcore Finnish: Taivaalla näkyy vain yksi pilvi. - Only one cloud is visible in the sky.

In Finnish the adessive case (suffix -lla) marks location “on” or “at” something. Here taivas (“sky”) becomes taivaalla, literally “on/at the sky,” which we translate as “in the sky.”

What kind of verb is näkyy, and why is it used here instead of näkee?

Näkyy is the third person singular present tense of the verb näkyä, meaning “to be visible” or “to appear.” It describes that something can be seen. By contrast, näkee comes from nähdä, “to see,” and requires an active subject who does the seeing (e.g. “he sees”). Since the sentence focuses on the cloud being visible (not on someone doing the seeing), we use näkyy.

Why is yksi pilvi in the nominative singular, and not partitive?

In Finnish, the subject of an intransitive verb takes the nominative case, so yksi pilvi (“one cloud”) is nominative singular as the subject of näkyy. Also, after the numeral yksi, the counted noun stays in nominative singular. (With numerals above one you’d normally see the partitive singular, e.g. kaksi pilveä.)

What does vain mean, and why is it placed before yksi?

Vain means “only” or “just.” In Finnish it typically appears right before the word it limits. Here it modifies yksi, giving “only one.”

Why are there no articles like “a” or “the” in the sentence?

Finnish does not have grammatical articles. Indefiniteness or definiteness is understood from context, word order, and words like yksi (“one/a”) or demonstratives like se (“that/it”).

Can I change the word order in this sentence?

Yes. Finnish word order is relatively free and often used for emphasis. For example: • Vain yksi pilvi näkyy taivaalla.
• Taivaalla vain yksi pilvi näkyy.
Both are correct—moving elements around shifts the focus.

What’s the difference between taivaalla and taivaassa?

Both are locative forms of taivas (“sky”). Taivaalla (adessive) means “on/at the sky” (neutral “in the sky”), while taivaassa (inessive) literally means “inside the sky” and is less common, often implying being enclosed within.

How would I say “there are three clouds in the sky” in Finnish?

Use the numeral kolme with the partitive singular pilveä:
Taivaalla näkyy kolme pilveä.
Finnish uses partitive singular after numerals greater than one.