Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa.

The dog runs freely in the park.

Breakdown of Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa.

• koira: the dog
• puisto: the park
• -ssa: in
• juosta: to run
• vapaasti: freely

Questions & Answers about Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa.

What does each word in Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa literally mean?

Word by word:

• Koira = dog
• juoksee = runs / is running (3rd person singular of the verb juosta, to run)
• vapaasti = freely (adverb from vapaa, free)
• puistossa = in the park (puisto = park + -ssa = in)

So the whole sentence is literally Dog runs freely in-park → The dog runs freely in the park.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Finnish does not use articles like the or a/an at all.

• Koira can mean a dog or the dog depending on context.
• Puistossa can mean in a park or in the park, again depending on what has been mentioned or is assumed known.

The idea of definiteness/indefiniteness (a/the) is usually understood from context, not from a separate word.

Why is it juoksee and not some other form of the verb?

Juoksee is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of juosta (to run).

The full present tense paradigm is:

• minä juoksen = I run / I am running
• sinä juokset = you (sing.) run
• hän juoksee = he/she runs
• me juoksemme = we run
• te juoksette = you (pl.) run
• he juoksevat = they run

Since the subject koira (the dog) is 3rd person singular, the correct form is juoksee.

In English we say is running. Why does Finnish just say juoksee?

Finnish normally uses one present tense form for both English simple present and present continuous:

• Koira juoksee can mean
  
  • The dog runs (general habit), or
  • The dog is running (right now).

There is no separate progressive form like English is running. Context tells you whether it’s a general or a right-now action. If needed, extra words (like nyt, now) can make it clearer: Koira juoksee nyt puistossa.

What exactly does the ending -ssa in puistossa mean?

The ending -ssa / -ssä marks the inessive case, which basically means in or inside something.

• puisto = park
• puisto + ssa → puistossa = in the park

Other examples:

• talossa = in the house (talo = house)
• kaupassa = in/at the shop (kauppa = shop)

So instead of a separate preposition like English in, Finnish uses a case ending attached to the noun.

Why doesn’t Finnish use a separate word like in, but uses puistossa instead?

Finnish mostly uses case endings instead of prepositions:

• English: in the park = preposition in
  • noun
• Finnish: puistossa = noun puisto
  • case ending -ssa (= in)

There are some postpositions and prepositions in Finnish (like alla, ennen, ilman), but for locations like in, on, from, to, Finnish usually relies on noun cases:

• puistossa = in the park (inessive)
• puistosta = from the park (elative)
• puistoon = to the park (illative)

What is vapaasti, and how is it related to vapaa?

• vapaa = free (adjective)
• vapaasti = freely (adverb)

The ending -sti often turns an adjective into an adverb, roughly like English -ly:

• nopea (fast) → nopeasti (quickly)
• hidas (slow) → hitaasti (slowly)
• vapaa (free) → vapaasti (freely)

So Koira juoksee vapaasti = The dog runs freely.

Could I say vapaa instead of vapaasti here?

Not in this sentence.

• vapaasti describes how the dog runs → it must be an adverb.
• vapaa is an adjective, which describes a noun (vapaa koira = a free dog).

Compare:

• Koira juoksee vapaasti. = The dog runs freely.
• Koira on vapaa. = The dog is free.

They describe different things: the manner of running vs the state of the dog.

Why is it Koira and not Koiraa as the subject?

Here the subject is in the nominative case: koira.

• Basic subjects of normal, complete actions in the present tense are usually nominative:
  
  • Koira juoksee. = The dog runs.
  • Mies nukkuu. = The man sleeps.

The partitive (koiraa) can appear for subjects in some special situations (e.g. with certain verbs, incomplete actions, quantities), but in a simple sentence expressing a clear, complete action like Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa, the subject is nominative koira, not koiraa.

Can I change the word order, for example Puistossa koira juoksee vapaasti?

Yes. Finnish word order is quite flexible because case endings show the grammatical roles.

All of these are grammatically correct:

• Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa.
• Puistossa koira juoksee vapaasti.
• Koira puistossa juoksee vapaasti.

The differences are about emphasis and information structure, not basic meaning:

• Starting with Koira is neutral: you’re telling something about the dog.
• Starting with Puistossa emphasizes the location: In the park, the dog runs freely (as opposed to somewhere else).

How would the sentence change if I talked about more than one dog?

You would make both the subject and the verb plural:

• Koirat juoksevat vapaasti puistossa.
  
  • koira → koirat (plural nominative)
  • juoksee → juoksevat (3rd person plural verb form)

Meaning: The dogs run / are running freely in the park.

How do you pronounce Koira juoksee vapaasti puistossa?

Key points:

• Koira: koi like koi (the insect), ra like rah (short).
• juoksee: juo like yoo-oh (a glide /j/ + uo), ksee with a long ee; the double k is pronounced a bit longer.
• vapaasti: va- like va in van, paa is a long aa (hold it), sti like stee.
• puistossa: pui like pwee but without an English w (Finnish ui is one glide), sto as in stoh, ssa with a long ss.

Every vowel is clearly pronounced, and double vowels and consonants (like aa, ss) are held longer than single ones. The stress is always on the first syllable of each word: KOI-ra JOUK-see VA-pa-as-ti PUI-stos-sa (approximate).