Learn Hardcore Finnish: Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu, mutta lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä. - Parents have a great responsibility, but children have the right to play.

the possessor (who has something) is in the adessive case (-lla/-llä):
vanhemmat → vanhemmilla, lapset → lapsilla
the thing possessed (suuri vastuu, oikeus leikkiä) stays in the basic form (usually nominative, unless partitive is needed).

So you use vanhemmilla / lapsilla when talking about what parents / children have, not vanhemmat / lapset.

What case is -lla / -llä, and what does it normally mean?

-lla / -llä is the adessive case.

Its core meanings are:

Location on / at / by something
- pöydällä = on the table
- asemalla = at the station
Possession (X has Y)
- Minulla on auto. = I have a car.
- Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu. = Parents have a big responsibility.
Some other common uses:
- Instrument / means: kynällä = with a pen
- Time expressions: kesällä = in (the) summer

In this sentence the adessive is used for possession.

How do we get from vanhempi and lapsi to vanhemmilla and lapsilla?

Let’s look at the steps:

1. vanhempi → vanhemmilla

Basic form (singular): vanhempi = parent
Plural nominative (subject form): vanhemmat = parents
- The mp → mm change is normal Finnish consonant gradation.
Adessive plural (on/at the parents):
- stem: vanhemm-
- ending: -illa
- vanhemmilla = “on the parents / at the parents” → used for “the parents have”

2. lapsi → lapsilla

Basic form (singular): lapsi = child
Plural nominative: lapset = children
Adessive plural:
- stem: lapsi- → lapsi + lla → lapsilla
- lapsilla = “on the children / at the children” → used for “children have”

So both are adessive plural forms used because of the X-lla on Y (X has Y) structure.

Why is it suuri vastuu and not something like suurta vastuuta?

Both are possible in Finnish, but they mean slightly different things.

In X-lla on Y sentences:

Nominative (basic form) ⇒ a whole, definite thing
- Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu.
  = Parents have a big (overall) responsibility.
  This talks about their responsibility in a general, total sense.
Partitive (e.g. suurta vastuuta) ⇒ an amount, some of, a lot of
- Vanhemmilla on suurta vastuuta.
  ≈ Parents have a lot of responsibility / much responsibility.
  Focus on quantity, not on one “big responsibility”.

In your sentence, suuri vastuu treats “responsibility” as one big, almost abstract thing that belongs to parents as a whole, which fits the meaning well.

Can we change the word order, like Suuri vastuu on vanhemmilla? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order, and it changes the emphasis, not the basic meaning.

Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu.
Neutral, slightly emphasizing who has the responsibility: the parents.
Suuri vastuu on vanhemmilla.
Emphasizes who carries that big responsibility, often in contrast to someone else, like:
Suuri vastuu on vanhemmilla, ei lapsilla.
= It’s the parents, not the children, who have the big responsibility.

Other orders, like Lapsilla on leikkiä oikeus, are ungrammatical or very unnatural. In practice:

[Possessor in -lla] + on + [thing possessed]
is the normal pattern, and fronting the possessed item (Suuri vastuu on vanhemmilla) is used for contrast / focus.

Why is there a comma before mutta, and what’s the difference between mutta and vaan?

Comma before mutta

Finnish normally uses a comma before mutta when it connects two clauses (two “mini-sentences”):

Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu, mutta lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä.
Clause 1: Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu.
Clause 2: Lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä.

So the comma is standard and required here.

mutta vs vaan

Both are often translated as “but”, but:

mutta = general “but”, contrast
- Haluan auttaa, mutta minulla ei ole aikaa.
vaan = “but rather / but instead”; it corrects or replaces what came before
- Se ei ole helppoa, vaan vaikeaa.
  = It’s not easy, but (rather) difficult.

Your sentence contrasts two truths, not correcting a negation, so mutta is correct:

Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu, mutta lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä.
(no correction, just contrast)

In lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä, why is leikkiä in that form, and what form is it?

Leikkiä here is the 1st infinitive of the verb leikkiä (“to play”).

The pattern is:

oikeus + infinitive = “the right to do (something)”
- oikeus leikkiä = the right to play
- oikeus äänestää = the right to vote
- oikeus opiskella = the right to study

So:

oikeus leikkiä literally: “right to play”
lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä = “children have the right to play”

The -a / -ä at the end here is just part of the dictionary form of the verb, not a case ending for a noun.

Could we use the singular and say Lapsella on oikeus leikkiä to mean “a child has the right to play” in general?

Yes, that is possible.

Lapsella on oikeus leikkiä.
Literally: “A child has the right to play.”
This can also be understood in a general sense: “A child (any child) has the right to play.”
Lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä.
Literally: “Children have the right to play.”
This is also used in a general, universal sense: “Children (in general) have the right to play.”

Both can express a general statement. The plural tends to sound more clearly like “all children”, while the singular can sound either generic or about one child, depending on context.

Why does Finnish use olla (“to be”) for “to have”? Is there a real verb meaning “to have”?

Finnish mostly expresses “to have” with the existential verb olla (“to be”) and a special structure:

[Possessor in -lla] + on + [thing possessed]

Examples:

Minulla on kirja.
= I have a book. (literally: “On me is a book.”)
Vanhemmilla on suuri vastuu.
= Parents have a big responsibility.
Lapsilla on oikeus leikkiä.
= Children have the right to play.

There is a verb omistaa (“to own”), but:

omistaa is more formal / specific, often about legal ownership, property, companies, etc.
- Hän omistaa talon. = He/she owns a house.
In everyday language, for most “have”-sentences, Finnish uses olla with the -lla possessor instead.

So the normal way to say “to have” in Finnish is exactly the pattern you see in your sentence.

How do you pronounce the double consonants like mm and ll in vanhemmilla, and where is the stress?

Pronunciation tips for vanhemmilla:

Stress
- In Finnish, stress is always on the first syllable of a word.
- VAN-he-mmil-la → stress on VAN.
Double consonants (mm, ll)
- mm and ll are pronounced as long consonants, not like English double letters (which usually sound the same as single).
- Think of them as a held consonant:
  - hem-mil (a short pause or lengthening at mm)
  - mil-la (again, ll is held slightly longer)

If you say vanemila with all single consonants, it will sound wrong to Finnish ears.
Aim for something like:

VAN-hem-mil-la (4 syllables, clear long mm and ll)