Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.

The study is next to the bedroom, and there is a computer there.

Breakdown of Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.

• olla: to be
• ja: and
• tietokone: the computer
• siellä: there
• vieressä: next to
• makuuhuone: the bedroom
• työhuone: the study

Questions & Answers about Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.

Why is it makuuhuoneen and not just makuuhuone?

Because makuuhuoneen is in the genitive case, which is required before the postposition vieressä.

The structure is:

• makuuhuoneen = of the bedroom (genitive)
• vieressä = next to, at the side (of something)

In Finnish, many location words that follow a noun (postpositions) take the noun in genitive:

• talon vieressä = next to the house
• kaupan edessä = in front of the shop
• pöydän alla = under the table

So makuuhuoneen vieressä literally means “at the side of the bedroom”, i.e. next to the bedroom.

What exactly is vieressä? What case is it, and why does it mean “next to”?

Vieressä is the inessive case (the “in/at” case) of the noun vieri (side).

• Base form: vieri = side
• Inessive: vieressä = in/at the side → idiomatically beside, next to

The ending -ssa / -ssä usually means “in / at”, but with words like vieri, the meaning becomes “at the side (of something)” → “next to”.

So:

• makuuhuoneen vieressä = at the side of the bedroom → next to the bedroom

Why is it siellä on tietokone (“there is a computer”) and not something like se on tietokone (“it is a computer”)?

These are two different types of sentences:

• Siellä on tietokone.
  Literally: There is a computer there.
  This is an existential sentence, introducing the existence of something in a place. The focus is on what is in that place.

• Se on tietokone.
  Literally: It is a computer.
  This identifies what “it” is. The focus is on what that specific thing is, not where it is.

In your sentence, the point is that in that room / there, a computer exists, so Finnish naturally uses siellä on tietokone, not se on tietokone.

What is the difference between siellä and siinä? Could I say Siinä on tietokone instead?

Both mean roughly “there”, but they’re used differently:

• siellä: “there” in a more general or larger place, often a room, area, city, etc.
  – Siellä on tietokone. = There (in that room / place), there is a computer.

• siinä: “there” in a very specific spot or object, or when you can figuratively “point” at it.
  – Siinä on tahraa. = There (on that spot), there is a stain.

In your context, we’re talking about the study as a place/room, so siellä is the natural choice:

• Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.
  = The study is next to the bedroom, and there (in the study) there is a computer.

Siinä on tietokone would sound more like “right there on that spot is a computer”, which is not what’s meant here.

Why doesn’t Finnish use words for “a” or “the” here? How do I know if it’s a or the study/computer?

Finnish has no articles like English “a, an, the”.

So:

• työhuone can mean “a study” or “the study”
• tietokone can mean “a computer” or “the computer”

Definiteness is understood from context and word order:

• If it’s new information, English usually uses “a”:
  – Siellä on tietokone. → There is a computer there.

• If it’s something already known or specific, English often uses “the” or a demonstrative:
  – Se tietokone on uusi. → That computer is new.
  – Tietokone on uusi. → The computer is new. (if context makes it clear which one)

In your sentence, “There is a computer (in there)” is the most natural English translation, because the computer is being introduced for the first time.

Why is tietokone in its basic form? Shouldn’t it show the location somehow?

In siellä on tietokone, the location is expressed by siellä, and tietokone is the subject of an existential sentence, so it stays in nominative singular (the basic form).

Structure:

• siellä = there (location)
• on = is (verb)
• tietokone = a computer (subject)

If you wanted to express the location directly with the room instead of siellä, you could say:

• Työhuoneessa on tietokone. = There is a computer in the study.
  – työhuoneessa = in the study (inessive case)
  – tietokone stays in nominative as the subject.

So the location is carried by siellä or työhuoneessa, not by tietokone.

How would the sentence change if there were several computers in the study?

You would typically use a plural partitive in this existential sentence:

• Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokoneita.
  = The study is next to the bedroom, and there are (some) computers there.

Notes:

• tietokoneita is the plural partitive of tietokone.
• In existential sentences, indefinite plurals are usually in the partitive plural:
  • Siellä on kirjoja. = There are (some) books there.
• If you mean a specific known set of computers, you can use the plural nominative:
  • Siellä ovat tietokoneet. = The computers are there.
    (Focus on those specific, known computers.)

Why is there a comma before ja (“and”)? I learned that you usually don’t put a comma before “and”.

English style is “no comma before and” in many cases, but Finnish punctuation rules are different.

In Finnish:

• When ja connects two main (independent) clauses, you do usually put a comma:

  • Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.
    
    • Clause 1: Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä.
    • Clause 2: Siellä on tietokone.

• When ja just connects words or shorter phrases inside the same clause, there is no comma:

  • Työhuoneessa on pöytä ja tuoli.
    = There is a table and a chair in the study.

So the comma in your sentence follows standard Finnish punctuation.

Could I leave out the second on and say “…ja siellä tietokone”?

Not in standard Finnish. Each finite clause normally needs its own verb.

• Correct:
  Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä on tietokone.
• Incorrect (standard language):
  *Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä, ja siellä tietokone.

In rapid, colloquial speech people might sometimes drop repeated verbs, but in correct written Finnish, you should repeat on in the second clause.

What do the compound words työhuone, makuuhuone, and tietokone literally mean?

They are all compound nouns, which Finnish uses a lot.

• työhuone

  • työ = work
  • huone = room
    → “work-room”, i.e. study, office (room)

• makuuhuone

  • makuu = lying down / sleeping
  • huone = room
    → “sleeping-room”, i.e. bedroom

• tietokone

  • tieto = knowledge, information
  • kone = machine
    → “information-machine”, i.e. computer

As compounds, they behave like single words in grammar:

• työhuoneen (genitive), työhuoneessa (in the study)
• makuuhuoneen (of the bedroom)
• tietokoneen (of the computer), tietokoneita (computers, partitive plural)

Can I change the word order to “Makuuhuoneen vieressä on työhuone”? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, that word order is also grammatical and means essentially the same thing:

• Työhuone on makuuhuoneen vieressä.
• Makuuhuoneen vieressä on työhuone.

The difference is mostly emphasis:

• Starting with Työhuone puts the study as the topic:
  → The study is next to the bedroom…

• Starting with Makuuhuoneen vieressä puts the location as the topic:
  → Next to the bedroom, (there) is a study…

Both are correct; Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and changes where the emphasis or “starting point” of the sentence lies.