Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.

Grandma and grandpa are sitting downstairs now.

Breakdown of Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.

• nyt: now
• ja: and
• -ssa: in
• istua: to sit
• mummo: the grandma
• vaari: the grandpa
• alakerta: the downstairs

Questions & Answers about Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.

Why is it istuvat and not istuu?

Mummo ja vaari is a plural subject (two people), so the verb must be in the 3rd person plural form.

• istua = to sit
• 3rd person singular: hän istuu = he/she sits / is sitting
• 3rd person plural: he istuvat = they sit / are sitting

Because mummo ja vaari together mean they, the correct form is istuvat. If there were just one person, you would use istuu:

• Mummo istuu alakerrassa nyt. – Grandma is sitting downstairs now.

Why doesn’t Finnish say “are sitting” with a separate word for “are”, like English does?

Finnish has only one present tense, which covers both:

• English simple present: they sit
• English present continuous: they are sitting

So istuvat already means “sit / are sitting” by itself. You do not need a separate verb like “are”. Context and time words like nyt (now) show that the action is happening right now.

So:

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.
  ≈ Grandma and grandpa are sitting downstairs now.

Could you also say Mummo ja vaari ovat istumassa alakerrassa nyt?

You can say ovat istumassa, but it has a slightly different feel.

• istuvat – neutral: they are (in a sitting position) downstairs now.
• ovat istumassa – emphasizes being in the middle of the activity of sitting. It’s often used in contexts like being in the process of doing something or contrasting with some other activity.

In everyday speech about just being seated somewhere, istuvat is simpler and more natural:

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – most usual
• Mummo ja vaari ovat alakerrassa nyt. – focuses on being there, not on sitting
• Mummo ja vaari ovat istumassa alakerrassa nyt. – OK, but sounds a bit more marked / “in the middle of sitting”.

What is the difference between using istuvat and ovat here?

• istuvat = are sitting, tells you how they are (their posture / action).
• ovat = are, only tells you where they are, not what they are doing.

Compare:

• Mummo ja vaari ovat alakerrassa nyt. – Grandma and grandpa are downstairs now.
• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – Grandma and grandpa are sitting downstairs now.

Both are correct; the second one simply adds what they are doing.

What does alakerrassa literally mean, and which grammatical case is this?

The base word is alakerta:

• ala = lower, down
• kerta here is part of a fixed word; alakerta means downstairs, the lower floor / level.

The form alakerrassa is inessive case (-ssa / -ssä), which usually means “in, inside, on (a surface/level)”. So:

• alakerta – downstairs (as a basic dictionary form)
• alakerrassa – in / on the downstairs (floor) → downstairs in this sentence

The case ending -ssa is why the word ends with -ssa.

Why does alakerta change to alakerrassa with rr? Where did the t go?

This is consonant gradation, a very common sound change in Finnish.

• Nominative: alakerta (strong grade rt)
• Inessive: alakerrassa (weak grade rr
  • -ssa)

The consonant cluster rt weakens to rr when you add certain endings (like case endings). So:

• alakerta → alakerrassa
• similarly: kerta → kerrassa, portti → portissa, etc.

Nothing is “missing” in meaning; it’s just a regular sound pattern of Finnish grammar.

Why is it alakerrassa, not alakerralla?

Both -ssa and -lla are location cases, but they mean slightly different things:

• -ssa / -ssä (inessive): in, inside, on (a level/area)
• -lla / -llä (adessive): on, at, by (an outer surface or point)

Alakerrassa fits the idea of being on/in a floor or level of a building, so -ssa is natural: on the downstairs floor.

Alakerralla would sound odd here; you normally don’t stand “on the downstairs” in Finnish the way you might stand on the balcony (parvekkeella) or at the bus stop (pysäkillä).

Why is nyt at the end of the sentence? Can it go somewhere else?

Yes, nyt (now) is quite flexible in word order. All of these are possible:

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.
• Mummo ja vaari istuvat nyt alakerrassa.
• Nyt mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa.

The basic neutral position is often just before the verb or towards the end:

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat nyt alakerrassa. – very natural
• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – also fine; may lightly stress “(as opposed to earlier), now they’re downstairs.”

Putting nyt first (Nyt...) tends to emphasize a change or contrast: Now (unlike before), grandma and grandpa are sitting downstairs.

Why isn’t “they” (like he) written in the sentence?

Finnish often drops personal pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

• He istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – literally They are sitting downstairs now.
• Istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – still clearly means They are sitting downstairs now if the context already tells you who.

In this specific sentence, mummo ja vaari already act as the subject, so adding he would be redundant. Finnish usually does not repeat a separate “they” after a full noun phrase subject:

• ❌ Mummo ja vaari he istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – wrong / unnatural
• ✅ Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt. – correct

Are mummo and vaari like names? Why aren’t they capitalized like Grandma and Grandpa in English?

In Finnish, mummo and vaari are treated mainly as common nouns, like mother or father, so they are not capitalized by default.

• mummo – grandma, granny
• vaari – grandpa, granddad

English often capitalizes Grandma / Grandpa when used as a name (“I’ll call Grandma”). Finnish usually keeps mummo and vaari lowercase, even when referring to specific family members.

There are exceptions in personal writing (people might write Mummo as a special nickname), but the standard rule is lowercase.

What’s the difference between mummo / vaari and isoäiti / isoisä?

• mummo – informal, warm, everyday word for grandmother
• vaari – informal, warm, everyday word for grandfather
• isoäiti – more formal or neutral word for grandmother
• isoisä – more formal or neutral word for grandfather

In normal family talk you’ll most often hear mummo and vaari, or dialectal / family-specific variants (like mummi, mummu, pappa, etc.). In official or written contexts (forms, documents), isoäiti and isoisä are more common.

There are no words like “the” in this sentence. How does Finnish handle “the grandma and grandpa” vs “a grandma and grandpa”?

Finnish has no articles (no “a / an / the”). Context usually tells you whether something is specific or general.

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa nyt.
  Depending on context, this can mean:
  • Grandma and grandpa are sitting downstairs now. (your particular grandparents)
  • or more vaguely: A grandma and a grandpa are sitting downstairs now.

If you need to be extra clear, you use other words (like tämä = this, se = that), but in family contexts it’s usually obvious who mummo and vaari are.

Does istuvat mean they do this regularly, or just right now? How would you say they sit downstairs every evening?

The Finnish present tense can express both:

• a current ongoing action (now)
• a habitual action (something they do regularly)

In your sentence, nyt (now) makes it clearly about right now. To talk about a habit, you add a suitable time expression:

• Mummo ja vaari istuvat alakerrassa joka ilta.
  – Grandma and grandpa sit downstairs every evening.

Same verb form istuvat, but the adverbial (nyt, joka ilta, etc.) tells you whether it’s about right now or a habit.