Learn Hardcore Finnish: Vanhempani tulevat kylään viikonloppuna. - My parents are coming to visit on the weekend.

So vanhempani literally means my parent, but in practice it almost always means my parents as a pair, and the plural verb tulevat confirms the plural meaning here.

Where is the word my in this sentence? Why isn’t there a separate word like in English?

Finnish usually marks possession with a suffix instead of a separate word.

-ni = my
- autoni = my car
- käsilaukkuni = my handbag
- vanhempani = my parent(s)

A separate pronoun minun (my) is optional and mainly adds emphasis:

Vanhempani tulevat kylään viikonloppuna. – My parents are coming… (neutral)
Minun vanhempani tulevat kylään viikonloppuna. – My parents (as opposed to someone else’s) are coming…

Both are correct; without context, the version without minun is more typical.

Why does the verb tulevat end in -vat instead of just tulee?

Finnish verbs agree with the subject in person and number.

The verb is tulla (to come). In the present tense:

hän tulee – he/she comes
he tulevat – they come

Ending -vat / -vät marks 3rd person plural (they).
Because vanhempani means my parents (plural), the correct standard-form verb is tulevat.

Could you also say Vanhempani tulee kylään viikonloppuna?

In spoken Finnish, yes; in standard written Finnish, no.

Colloquial Finnish very often uses the 3rd person singular form for plural subjects:

Mun vanhemmat tulee kylään viikonloppuna. (very natural speech)

But in standard language (writing, formal speech) you should match the plural subject with a plural verb:

Vanhempani tulevat kylään viikonloppuna. ✔ (standard)
Vanhempani tulee kylään viikonloppuna. ✖ (perceived as colloquial / incorrect in formal writing)

What form is kylään, and what is the difference between kylä, kylässä, and kylään?

The base noun is kylä (village, or someone’s home in the sense of going over to visit).

Here are the relevant forms:

kylä – basic form (a village)
kylässä – in the village / at someone’s place
kylään – into the village / to someone’s place (illative case, movement towards / into)

The verb tulla often combines with kylään in the fixed expression tulla kylään, which means:

to come over (as a guest), to come visit

So tulevat kylään is understood as are coming to visit, not just are coming to the village.

What case is viikonloppuna, and why is that form used for time?

The base word is viikonloppu (weekend).
Viikonloppuna is the essive singular case:

stem: viikonloppu-
essive ending: -na / -nä
→ viikonloppuna

Essive is often used for time expressions, roughly meaning during / on X:

maanantaina – on Monday
kesällä (this one is adessive, but works similarly) – in summer
viikonloppuna – on / during the weekend

So viikonloppuna is the normal, idiomatic way to say at the weekend.

Can I change the word order, for example Viikonloppuna vanhempani tulevat kylään?

Yes. Finnish word order is quite flexible, and changes usually affect emphasis, not basic meaning.

Some options:

Vanhempani tulevat kylään viikonloppuna.
– Neutral: My parents are coming to visit at the weekend.
Viikonloppuna vanhempani tulevat kylään.
– Emphasis on the time: It’s at the weekend that my parents are coming to visit (not earlier or later).
Kylään vanhempani tulevat viikonloppuna.
– Emphasis on what they are doing: What they’re doing at the weekend is coming over (not something else).

All are grammatically correct; the original order is the most neutral.

How would I say it if only one parent is coming to visit?

You normally specify which parent:

Äitini tulee kylään viikonloppuna. – My mother is coming to visit at the weekend.
Isäni tulee kylään viikonloppuna. – My father is coming to visit at the weekend.

If you really want to say one of my parents without specifying which:

Toinen vanhemmistani tulee kylään viikonloppuna.
– One of my parents is coming to visit at the weekend.

What are the dictionary forms of the words in this sentence?

To look these up in a dictionary, you use:

vanhempani → vanhempi (parent; older)
tulevat → tulla (to come)
kylään → kylä (village; someone’s place)
viikonloppuna → viikonloppu (weekend)

Finnish dictionaries list words in their nominative singular (for nouns/adjectives) or basic infinitive (for verbs).

Does tulevat mean come or will come? How do you express the future?

Finnish does not have a separate future tense. The present tense covers both present and future.

He tulevat. – They come / They are coming / They will come.
Time expressions give you the future meaning:
- huomenna he tulevat – they will come tomorrow
- viikonloppuna he tulevat – they will come at the weekend

So in your sentence, tulevat is understood as will come / are coming because of viikonloppuna.