Tämä kahvila on suosikki.

This café is a favorite.

Breakdown of Tämä kahvila on suosikki.

• olla: to be
• tämä: this
• kahvila: the café
• suosikki: favorite

Questions & Answers about Tämä kahvila on suosikki.

Why is there no word for a or the in Tämä kahvila on suosikki?

Finnish does not have articles like a/an or the at all. The noun kahvila simply means café, and the context tells you whether you would translate it as a café or the café in English.

In Tämä kahvila on suosikki, the demonstrative tämä (this) already makes the reference specific, so in English we naturally say This café is (a/my) favorite, not This a café is favorite. The specificity comes from tämä, not from an article.

What is the difference between Tämä kahvila on suosikki and Tämä on kahvila?

• Tämä kahvila on suosikki = This café is a / my favorite.
  Here tämä modifies kahvila; they form one noun phrase: this café.

• Tämä on kahvila = This is a café.
  Here tämä is the subject by itself (this), and kahvila is the predicate noun (a café).

So:

• Tämä kahvila … = This café …
• Tämä on kahvila. = This is a café.

What exactly does tämä mean, and why is it in this form?

Tämä is the nominative singular form of the demonstrative pronoun this (near the speaker).

Some key forms:

• tämä = this (subject / basic form)
• tämän = of this (genitive)
• tätä = this (partitive)
• Spoken Finnish often uses tää or tän, but tämä is the standard written form.

In Tämä kahvila on suosikki, tämä is in the basic nominative form because it is part of the subject (tämä kahvila).

Why is kahvila not inflected (why not kahvilassa, kahvilaa, etc.)?

Here kahvila is the head noun of the subject and is in the nominative singular form, which is the normal dictionary form.

• Subjects are typically in the nominative:
  
  • Kahvila on pieni. – The café is small.
  • Tämä kahvila on suosikki. – This café is a favorite.

You would use other cases like:

• kahvilassa (inessive, in the café)
• kahvilaan (illative, into the café)
• kahvilaa (partitive, used in certain structures)

But in this sentence, we just need the plain subject form, so kahvila.

What is on here? Why not olla?

On is the 3rd person singular form of the verb olla (to be):

• olla = to be (infinitive)
• minä olen = I am
• sinä olet = you are
• hän / se on = he/she/it is

Since the subject tämä kahvila is third person singular (it), we use on:

• Tämä kahvila on suosikki. – This café is a favorite.

You only see the infinitive olla in places like dictionaries or after another verb (e.g. haluan olla – I want to be), not as the main, finite verb of a simple sentence.

Is suosikki a noun or an adjective? In English, favorite looks like an adjective.

In Finnish, suosikki is primarily a noun, meaning favorite (person/thing):

• Hän on suosikkini. – He/She is my favorite.
• Tämä kahvila on suosikki. – This café is a favorite.

To say favorite café as a noun phrase, Finns often create a compound noun:

• suosikkikahvila – favorite café

So:

• suosikki = a favorite (noun)
• suosikkikahvila = favorite café (compound noun)

Shouldn’t it be suosikkini if I mean my favorite?

If you want to explicitly say my favorite, Finnish very often uses a possessive suffix:

• Tämä kahvila on suosikkini. – This café is my favorite.

Here:

• suosikki = favorite
• -ni = my

Other options:

• Tämä kahvila on minun suosikkini. (possessive pronoun + suffix)
• Tämä kahvila on minun suosikkini kahviloista. – This café is my favorite of the cafés.

The short sentence Tämä kahvila on suosikki can still be understood as a favorite (of mine / of ours) from context, but it is less explicit than suosikkini.

Why is suosikki also in the basic form (nominative)? Why not suosikkia?

In sentences with olla (to be) used to classify or identify something, both the subject and the predicate noun are typically in the nominative:

• Hän on opettaja. – He/She is a teacher.
• Tämä kahvila on suosikki. – This café is a favorite.

You would use the partitive (suosikkia) in different structures, for example:

• With certain verbs: Rakastan tätä kahvilaa. – I love this café.
• To express incomplete quantity or ongoing action, etc.

Here we are making a straightforward classification (café = favorite), so suosikki stays in nominative.

Could I say Tämä kahvila on minun suosikkini? Is that more natural?

Yes, Tämä kahvila on minun suosikkini is very natural and unambiguous. It clearly means:

• This café is my favorite.

Differences in nuance:

• Tämä kahvila on suosikki. – This café is a / the favorite (whose favorite is left to context).
• Tämä kahvila on suosikkini. or … minun suosikkini. – very clearly my favorite.

In everyday speech, you will also hear:

• Tää kahvila on mun suosikki. (colloquial forms, but same meaning)

Can I change the word order, like Suosikki on tämä kahvila?

Yes, but the emphasis changes.

• Tämä kahvila on suosikki.
  Neutral: you are describing this café as a favorite.

• Suosikki on tämä kahvila.
  Emphasis on suosikki: e.g. among several cafés you might be discussing, you are now specifying which one is the favorite:
  The favorite is this café.

Finnish word order is flexible, but changes in order usually signal changes in focus or emphasis, not in basic grammar.

How would I say This is my favorite café in a more typical Finnish way?

Some natural options:

• Tämä on suosikkikahvilani. – This is my favorite café.

  • suosikkikahvila = favorite café
  • -ni = my

• Tämä kahvila on suosikkini. – This café is my favorite.

• More explicit:

  • Tämä kahvila on minun suosikkikahvilani. – This café is my favorite café.

Is Tämä kahvila on suosikki a complete sentence, or does it sound incomplete to Finns?

It is grammatically complete and understandable, but depending on context some Finns might feel it is slightly bare or in need of a possessor.

In natural conversation, people often specify whose favorite it is:

• Tämä kahvila on mun suosikki. – This café is my favorite.
• Tämä kahvila on meidän suosikki. – This café is our favorite.

Without a possessor, Tämä kahvila on suosikki can feel like:

• This café is a favorite (one)
  possibly understood as a favorite among many, or a favorite in general. Context usually clarifies.