Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.

In my opinion, mathematics is an important thing.

Breakdown of Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.

• olla: to be
• tärkeä: important
• asia: the thing
• minusta: in my opinion
• matematiikka: the mathematics

Questions & Answers about Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.

What does minusta literally mean, and why isn’t it just minä?

Minusta is the elative case of minä (“I”). Literally it means “from me / out of me.”

In this sentence, Finnish uses the idea “from me” metaphorically: from my point of view, in my opinion. So:

• minä = I (basic form)
• minusta = from me → as far as I’m concerned, in my opinion

Using minusta here is the normal Finnish way to say “I think / in my opinion”, even though English uses just “I” as the subject.

Is minusta always used to express an opinion?

Not always, but very often.

Two main uses:

1. Opinion / evaluation

   • Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
     = In my opinion, mathematics is an important thing.
   • Sinusta tämä kirja on tylsä.
     = You think this book is boring.

2. Change of state / becoming

   • Minusta tuli opettaja.
     = I became a teacher.

In your sentence it’s clearly the opinion use.

What is the difference between Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia and Minun mielestäni matematiikka on tärkeä asia?

Both mean “In my opinion, mathematics is an important thing.”

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  – Shorter, very common, fully natural.
  – Neutral, everyday Finnish.

• Minun mielestäni matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  – Literally: In my mind’s opinion, mathematics is an important thing.
  – Slightly more explicit, sometimes a bit heavier or more formal, but also very common.

In speech you’ll also hear colloquial forms: mun mielestä (for minun mielestäni).
Meaning is practically the same; it’s just style and formality.

Can you leave out minusta here? Would Matematiikka on tärkeä asia be okay?

Yes, you can say:

• Matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  = Mathematics is an important thing.

Without minusta, it becomes a more general statement, like a fact, not clearly marked as “my opinion”.

Adding minusta explicitly marks it as your personal opinion:

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  = I think mathematics is an important thing.

What case is minusta, and how do the other persons look?

Minusta is in the elative case (ending -sta / -stä), meaning “from”.

Personal forms in elative:

• minusta = from me / in my opinion
• sinusta = from you (sing.)
• hänestä = from him/her
• meistä = from us
• teistä = from you (pl.)
• heistä = from them

With opinions:

• Sinusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  = You think mathematics is an important thing.
• Heidän mielestään matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  = They think mathematics is an important thing.

Why is it matematiikka, not matematiikkaa?

Here matematiikka is the subject of the sentence, so it’s in the nominative (basic) form.

• Subject in nominative: matematiikka
• Verb: on
• Predicative: tärkeä asia

You would see matematiikkaa (partitive) in other roles, for example:

• Opiskelen matematiikkaa.
  = I study mathematics.
• Minulla ei ole matematiikkaa tänään.
  = I don’t have math (class) today.

But as a simple subject like “Mathematics is…”, it uses matematiikka.

Why is the verb on singular? In British English we can say “maths are important.”

In Finnish, matematiikka is grammatically singular, like “mathematics” in American English.

• matematiikka on = mathematics is

Finnish verbs always agree with the grammatical number of the subject, not with any idea of “many topics inside math”. So you must say:

• Matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  not ✗ Matematiikka ovat…

Why do we say tärkeä asia? Could we say just Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä?

Yes, Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä is grammatical and natural. It means:

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä.
  = I think mathematics is important.

Adding asia (thing, matter) makes it slightly more explicit:

• tärkeä asia = an important thing (an important matter)

Nuance:

• tärkeä alone: focuses on the quality (“important”).
• tärkeä asia: sounds a bit more weighty, like “a (really) important matter”.

Both versions are okay; the one with asia just emphasizes it as “an important matter”.

Do tärkeä and asia agree in some way?

Yes. In Finnish, an adjective before a noun agrees with it in case and number.

Here:

• asia = nominative singular
• tärkeä = nominative singular

So they match: tärkeä asia.

If we changed the case or number, both would change:

• tärkeänä asiana = as an important thing (essive)
• tärkeät asiat = important things (plural nominative)
• tärkeitä asioita = important things (plural partitive)

Could we also say Minusta matematiikka on tärkeää? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s also correct:

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
  → Literally: Mathematics is an important thing (in my opinion).

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeää.
  → Literally: Mathematics is important (in my opinion).
  Here tärkeää is the partitive form of the adjective, used as a predicative.

The difference is subtle:

• tärkeä asia: more concrete, like calling it “an important matter”.
• tärkeää: more general/abstract; “math is important” as a quality, without turning it into “a thing”.

Both are natural; Finns use both depending on style and emphasis.

Can we change the word order, like Matematiikka on minusta tärkeä asia?

Yes, word order in Finnish is quite flexible, and all of these are possible:

1. Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.
   – Neutral: “I think mathematics is an important thing.”

2. Matematiikka on minusta tärkeä asia.
   – Slight emphasis on matematiikka as the topic: “As for mathematics, I think it’s an important thing.”

3. Matematiikka on tärkeä asia minusta.
   – Also possible, but minusta feels a bit more like an afterthought: “…at least in my opinion.”

The most typical and neutral are Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia and Matematiikka on minusta tärkeä asia.

Is asia necessary? Do Finns often add asia like this?

Asia is not necessary, but it’s very common in Finnish to use words like:

• asia = thing, matter
• juttu (colloquial) = thing, matter

to slightly strengthen or clarify the idea.

So you’ll often hear:

• Se on tärkeä asia. = That’s an important thing.
• Tämä on hyvä juttu. = This is a good thing.

In your sentence, asia just frames “mathematics” as “an important matter.”
Without it, the meaning is almost the same:

• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä.
• Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia.

Both are natural.

How would you turn this into a question: “Do you think mathematics is important?”

You can use the same minusta / sinusta structure:

• Onko matematiikka sinusta tärkeä asia?
  = Do you think mathematics is an important thing?

Or, without asia:

• Onko matematiikka sinusta tärkeä?
  = Do you think mathematics is important?

Or using mielestäsi (literally “in your opinion”):

• Onko matematiikka mielestäsi tärkeää / tärkeä asia?

Is this sentence formal or informal?

Minusta matematiikka on tärkeä asia. is neutral. It works:

• in everyday conversation,
• in writing,
• in relatively formal contexts too.

A more colloquial version (especially spoken) might be:

• Mun mielestä matikka on tärkeä juttu.

But the original sentence is standard, neutral Finnish, suitable almost anywhere.