Word
Ulkona sataa, joten katu on liukas.
Meaning
It is raining outside, so the street is slippery.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Ulkona sataa, joten katu on liukas.
Why is there no subject like “it” in the verb sataa?
Finnish weather verbs are impersonal. Sataa (it rains), tuulee (it’s windy), ukkostaa (there’s thunder) appear in 3rd-person singular without any subject. So you say simply Sataa or add a place: Ulkona sataa. Saying Se sataa is unidiomatic in standard Finnish.
Can I change the word order to Sataa ulkona?
Yes. Both Ulkona sataa and Sataa ulkona are correct. Finnish word order is flexible; putting Ulkona first highlights the location (“Outside, it’s raining”), while Sataa ulkona is a bit more neutral.
What is ulkona exactly? Why does it end in -na, not -ssa/-llä?
Ulkona is a fixed place adverb meaning “outside, outdoors.” It belongs to an irregular “directional trio”:
- ulkona = at/outside (location)
- ulos = out/to outside (movement to)
- ulkoa = from outside (movement from)
Memorize these as adverbs; they don’t follow the regular -ssa/-sta/-seen or -lla/-lta/-lle patterns. Comparable sets: kotona/kotiin/kotoa (at home/to home/from home).
Could I say Sataa vettä?