Learn Hardcore Finnish: Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone. - Downstairs there is a small toilet and a washing machine.

The double rr in alakerrassa is just a regular sound change that happens when -ssa is added to words like kerta → kerrassa, alakerta → alakerrassa.

Why is the verb on (singular) and not ovat, even though there are two things?

In this sentence, on is used in what’s called an existential sentence: you are introducing the existence of things in a place.

Structure:

[Place] + on + [thing(s)]
Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone.
- Downstairs there is a small toilet and a washing machine.

In this structure, Finnish very often uses singular on, even if more than one thing is listed after it. The focus is on “what can be found there”, not on counting the subject as in normal subject–verb agreement.

You can say ovat in some similar sentences, but with this word order (Alakerrassa on ...) native speakers strongly prefer on.

Why does the sentence start with Alakerrassa? Could I say Pieni vessa ja pesukone ovat alakerrassa instead?

Both sentences are grammatically correct, but they focus on different things.

Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone.
- Typical existential pattern: place first, then new information.
- Natural translation: “Downstairs there is a small toilet and a washing machine.”
- Focus: what is available downstairs.
Pieni vessa ja pesukone ovat alakerrassa.
- Normal subject–verb–place sentence.
- Natural translation: “The small toilet and the washing machine are downstairs.”
- Focus: the toilet and washing machine, and where they are located. They sound more like known, specific items you’re talking about.

So:

If you’re introducing what exists downstairs, use Alakerrassa on ....
If you’re talking about the location of specific, already-known things, Pieni vessa ja pesukone ovat alakerrassa fits better.

Where is the word “there” in the Finnish sentence? English says “There is ...”, but Finnish only has on.

Finnish normally doesn’t use a separate word like “there” in these existential sentences.

The idea of “there” is contained in the location phrase + case ending:

Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone.
Literally: “In the downstairs is a small toilet and a washing machine.”
Natural English: “Downstairs there is a small toilet and a washing machine.”

So:

Alakerrassa (with -ssa) already answers “where?” and carries the “there” meaning.
on just means “is/are”.

You could add siellä (“there”) for emphasis:

Siellä alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone.
= “(Right) there downstairs there is a small toilet and a washing machine.”

But normally Alakerrassa on ... is enough.

Why don’t pieni vessa and pesukone have any endings? What case are they in?

They are in the nominative singular, the basic dictionary form:

pieni vessa = a small toilet (subject)
pesukone = a washing machine (subject)

In this type of existential sentence, the things that exist in that place usually appear in the nominative when they are countable, whole items:

Alakerrassa on pieni vessa. – There is a small toilet downstairs.
Alakerrassa on pesukone. – There is a washing machine downstairs.

Compare with an uncountable substance, which would often be in the partitive:

Alakerrassa on vettä. – There is (some) water downstairs.

So here, pieni vessa and pesukone are just normal, whole items in the nominative.

Why is there no word like “a” or “the” before pieni vessa and pesukone?

Finnish has no articles at all—no words corresponding to English “a / an / the.”

Definiteness and indefiniteness are expressed by:

context
word order
sometimes pronouns (like se / ne, “it / they”)

In this sentence:

Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pesukone.

you would normally understand it in English as:

“(There is) a small toilet and a washing machine downstairs.”

If you wanted to be clearly definite, you might use a different structure in Finnish, for example:

Se pieni vessa ja pesukone ovat alakerrassa.
= “The small toilet and the washing machine are downstairs.”

What exactly does vessa mean? Is it “toilet”, “bathroom”, or something else?

Vessa is the everyday Finnish word for the room with a toilet. It comes from vesiklosetti (water closet, WC).

Depending on context, vessa can correspond to different English words:

toilet (British/Irish usage)
restroom / bathroom (American usage)
WC

It doesn’t necessarily say whether there is a shower or bath there.

If you specifically mean a bathroom with a bath or shower, the usual Finnish word is:

kylpyhuone = bathroom

So in a typical small flat, vessa might be just a toilet, or a compact toilet + shower; Finns still often call it vessa in everyday speech.

What does pesukone literally mean?

Pesukone is a compound word:

pesu = washing, wash
kone = machine

So pesukone literally means “washing machine.”

A few related words:

pyykinpesukone = clothes washing machine (more specific)
astianpesukone = dishwasher (literally “dish-washing machine”)

But in everyday speech, pesukone by itself usually means the clothes washing machine unless context clearly points to something else.

Does pieni describe both vessa and pesukone, or only vessa? How would I say that both are small?

As written:

pieni vessa ja pesukone

the adjective pieni most naturally describes only vessa. Pesukone has no adjective of its own here, so its size is not specified.

To say that both are small, you would normally repeat the adjective:

Alakerrassa on pieni vessa ja pieni pesukone.
= There is a small toilet and a small washing machine downstairs.

You could also rearrange the sentence, but the clearest way is simply to repeat pieni before each noun.