Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.

Father burns wood in the fireplace in the evening.

Breakdown of Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.

• -ssa: in
• illalla: in the evening
• isä: the father
• takka: the fireplace
• polttaa: to burn
• puu: the wood

Questions & Answers about Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.

Why is Isä in this form and not something like Isän?

Isä is in the nominative singular form, which is the basic dictionary form and the form used for the subject of the sentence.

• Isä polttaa… = Father/Dad burns…
• If you changed it to Isän, that would be the genitive (possessive) form: of the father, father’s – which doesn’t fit as the subject here.
  
  • Example: Isän auto = Father’s car.

So Isä here is just the subject Father/Dad in its normal, uninflected subject form.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” before Isä?

Finnish has no articles (no direct equivalents of English a/an or the). The bare noun Isä can mean:

• the father, the dad
• a father, a dad
• Father/Dad as a specific person, depending on context

Context decides whether you understand it as my dad, the dad, or a dad. In many everyday contexts, Isä on its own is naturally interpreted as Dad (the speaker’s own father).

Is Isä here “father” in general or “Dad” like a name?

It can be understood both ways, depending on context:

• In a neutral context: Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.
  → The father burns wood in the fireplace in the evening.
• In a family context (someone talking about their own parent):
  → Dad burns wood in the fireplace in the evening.

When Finnish speakers mean my dad in everyday speech, they often just say Isä without minun (my) or possessive suffixes, especially in the family circle.

What form of the verb is polttaa, and how would it change with different subjects?

Polttaa here is 3rd person singular, present tense, indicative:

• Isä polttaa = Father burns / is burning

Some present-tense forms of polttaa:

• minä poltan – I burn
• sinä poltat – you burn (singular)
• hän polttaa – he/she burns
• me poltamme – we burn
• te poltatte – you burn (plural / formal)
• he polttavat – they burn

The dictionary form polttaa looks the same as the 3rd person singular form, which is normal in Finnish.

Why is it puita and not puut?

The choice between puita and puut is mostly about case and aspect:

• puita = partitive plural

  • often used when the amount is indefinite or not all of it, or when the action is ongoing/habitual, not viewed as a complete whole.
  • Here, it suggests burns (some) wood / burns wood (as an activity).

• puut = nominative/accusative plural

  • as an object, usually a total object: the whole, definite set of wood is affected, as a complete event.
  • Isä polttaa puut. → Father burns the wood (all of it).

In Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla, puita makes it sound like a general or repeated activity: Dad burns wood in the fireplace in the evenings, rather than Dad will burn up these particular pieces of wood completely.

What case is puita, and how is it formed from puu?

Puita is the partitive plural of puu (tree; wood).

Main forms of puu:

• nominative singular: puu (tree / piece of wood)
• partitive singular: puuta (some wood / a bit of tree)
• nominative/accusative plural: puut (trees / the trees / the pieces of wood)
• partitive plural: puita (some trees / some wood, indefinite amount)

The partitive plural ending is -ita / -itä, and with puu you get pui-ta → puita. This is a fairly regular alternation for words like puu.

Does puita mean “trees” or “firewood” here?

Literally, puu means tree or wood (as material), and puita is some trees or some wood. In this context, with polttaa puita takassa:

• The natural interpretation is firewood, i.e. Dad burns wood (logs) in the fireplace.

Whether you interpret it more as wood or trees depends on context, but with a fireplace it’s clear we’re talking about fuel, not living trees.

Why is it takassa and not takkaan or something with a separate word for “in”?

Finnish uses case endings instead of prepositions like in:

• takka = fireplace (basic form)
• takassa = in the fireplace (inessive case, inside, in)
• takkaan = into the fireplace (illative case, movement into)

In this sentence, the wood is already in the fireplace while it’s burning, so takassa (inessive, location inside) is correct.

You don’t add a separate word like in or inside; the ending -ssa / -ssä itself means in, inside.

What case is takassa, and what does that case generally mean?

Takassa is the inessive singular form of takka (fireplace).

• The inessive case uses the ending -ssa / -ssä and generally expresses being in or inside something.
  • pöydässä – in the table (inside the structure)
  • laatikossa – in the box
  • kaupungissa – in the city

So takassa = in the fireplace.

What does illalla literally mean, and what case is it?

Illalla comes from ilta (evening) and is in the adessive case (ending -lla / -llä). Literally it’s something like “on the evening”, but in English we say “in the evening” or “at nightfall/at evening”.

In Finnish, the adessive is often used for time expressions:

• aamulla – in the morning (from aamu)
• päivällä – in the daytime / during the day (päivä)
• illalla – in the evening (ilta)
• yöllä – at night (yö)

So illalla is a standard way to say “in the evening”.

Can the word order of Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla be changed?

Yes. Finnish word order is fairly flexible, and you can move elements to change emphasis or flow. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different focus:

• Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.
  → neutral S–V–O–place–time order.
• Illalla isä polttaa puita takassa.
  → emphasizes in the evening; sets the scene with the time first.
• Takassa isä polttaa puita illalla.
  → emphasizes in the fireplace (not, say, outside).

The basic information is the same, but the first element in the sentence tends to be what you’re highlighting.

How would I say “My dad burns wood in the fireplace in the evening”?

You have a few natural options:

1. Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.
   – In many contexts this is already understood as My dad burns wood… if you’re talking about your own father.

2. To make “my” explicit:

   • Minun isäni polttaa puita takassa illalla.
   • or more colloquially: Mun isä polttaa puita takassa illalla.

Notes:

• minun isäni is slightly more emphatic or formal (my father).
• In everyday spoken Finnish, people often just say mun isä and drop possessive suffixes.

How would I say “Dad burns the wood in the fireplace (all of it)”?

You would typically use the total object form puut:

• Isä polttaa puut takassa.
  → Dad burns the wood (all of it) in the fireplace.

If you mean those particular pieces of wood we both know about, you can make it even more explicit:

• Isä polttaa ne puut takassa.
  → Dad burns those pieces of wood in the fireplace.

Compared with puita (some wood / wood in general), puut suggests a specific, complete set of wood being burned.

How do I make this sentence negative?

Use the negative verb ei and the connegative form of the main verb:

• Isä ei polta puita takassa illalla.
  → Dad does not burn wood in the fireplace in the evening.

Structure:

• ei = negative verb (3rd person singular here: ei)
• polta = connegative form of polttaa (used in negatives)
• The object puita stays in the partitive, which is typical in negative sentences.

Any pronunciation tips for Isä polttaa puita takassa illalla?

Key points:

• Stress is on the first syllable of each word: I-sä POL-ttaa PUI-ta TA-kas-sa IL-lal-la.
• Double consonants (tt, kk, ll) are held longer than single ones:
  • polttaa: the tt is clearly longer than in poltaa (which would be wrong here).
  • takka, takassa, illalla: keep kk and ll long.
• Vowel length matters too:
  • polttaa has long aa at the end.
  • puita has a clear diphthong ui (one smooth glide, not pu-ita).
• Say it smoothly in one rhythm without strong English-style sentence stress; Finnish is more evenly timed.