Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.

The mother is worried about the boy.

Breakdown of Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.

• olla: to be
• äiti: the mother
• poika: the boy
• huolissaan: worried

Questions & Answers about Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in Äiti on huolissaan pojasta?

Finnish doesn’t use articles like “the” or “a/an” at all.

• Äiti can mean “a mother” or “the mother” depending on context.
• pojasta can mean “about a boy” or “about the boy”.

The definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from the situation or from earlier context, not from a separate word.

What does huolissaan literally mean, and what kind of word is it?

huolissaan is an idiomatic form that functions like an adjective meaning “worried”.

Literally, it comes from the noun huoli (worry, concern) plus:

• -ssa: an inessive ending (“in”), and
• -an: a 3rd-person possessive suffix (“his/her/their”).

Historically, it’s something like “in his/her worries”, but in modern Finnish you just learn olla huolissaan as a fixed expression meaning “to be worried”.

In a sentence like Äiti on huolissaan, huolissaan is a predicative (like an adjective used with olla “to be”), similar to “The mother is worried.”

Why is it pojasta and not just poika after huolissaan?

Many Finnish expressions require a specific case. With olla huolissaan, the thing you’re worried about is in the elative case (ending -sta / -stä).

• poika = boy (basic form, nominative)
• pojasta = from/about the boy (elative)

So:

• Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.
  = The mother is worried about the boy.

Äiti on huolissaan poika would be wrong, because the idiom olla huolissaan + elative requires the -sta/-stä ending.

What case is pojasta, and what does that case usually mean?

pojasta is in the elative case.

Formation:

• base form: poika (boy)
• stem: poja-
• elative: pojasta (from/out of/about the boy)

Typical core meanings of the elative:

• physical: talosta = from the house
• more abstract: kirjasta = about the book

In this sentence, it’s the abstract meaning: “about the boy”. That’s why olla huolissaan + elative gives “to be worried about X.”

Could we say Äiti on huolissaan pojastaan instead of pojasta? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say both, but the nuance changes.

• Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.
  = The mother is worried about the boy (some specific boy already known from context, not necessarily her own son).

• Äiti on huolissaan pojastaan.

  • pojastaan = about her/his/their own boy/son (elative + possessive suffix -an)
    = The mother is worried about her own son.

So pojasta is neutral (“the boy we were talking about”), while pojastaan explicitly shows possession (“her son”).

Is huolissaan conjugated for person? What happens with other subjects like “I” or “we”?

The verb olla (“to be”) is conjugated, and huolissaan changes slightly with person through possessive suffixes.

Common forms:

• Minä olen huolissani. – I am worried.
• Sinä olet huolissasi. – You are worried.
• Hän on huolissaan. – He/She is worried.
• Me olemme huolissamme. – We are worried.
• Te olette huolissanne. – You (pl.) are worried.
• He ovat huolissaan. – They are worried.

So the pattern is:
olla (conjugated) + huoliss- + possessive ending.

In the sentence Äiti on huolissaan, on is 3rd person singular, and -an on huolissaan also matches 3rd person.

Is Äiti on huolissaan pojasta present simple or some kind of continuous tense?

Finnish has only one present tense; it doesn’t distinguish between simple and continuous like English does.

Äiti on huolissaan pojasta can be translated as:

• “The mother is worried about the boy.”
• or “The mother worries about the boy.”

Both are possible English translations; Finnish itself does not mark that difference in the verb form.

Can I change the word order, for example: Pojasta äiti on huolissaan?

Yes. Finnish word order is quite flexible, and you can front different parts for emphasis.

• Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.
  = neutral, basic word order.

• Pojasta äiti on huolissaan.
  = It’s about the boy that the mother is worried (emphasis on pojasta, maybe contrasting with someone/something else).

The grammatical relationships are shown by case endings (pojasta), not by word order, so moving elements mainly affects emphasis or style, not correctness.

Is äiti here “mother” as a common noun or more like “Mom” as a name?

It can be either, depending on context.

• As a common noun: “(The) mother is worried about the boy.”
• As a form of address/name (what you call your own mother): “Mom is worried about the boy.”

In Finnish:

• At the start of a sentence, Äiti is capitalized because of normal sentence rules.
• In the middle of a sentence, it’s normally äiti unless used as part of a name/title.

So grammatically it’s just “mother”, but in real use it often corresponds to how English uses “Mom.”

How do you pronounce the ä in Äiti and pojasta?

ä in Finnish is a separate vowel from a.

• ä is pronounced like the “a” in “cat” or “bad”, a front vowel /æ/.
• a is more like the “a” in “father”, a back vowel /ɑ/.

So:

• Äiti ≈ Æi-ti: first sound like the a in “cat,” then a clear ee.
• pojasta ≈ po-yas-ta: a in jas like the a in “father.”

Finnish vowels are short and clear; each written vowel is pronounced.

Is huolissaan a verb? It looks a bit like one.

No, huolissaan is not a verb.

• The verb in the sentence is on (3rd person singular of olla, “to be”).
• huolissaan is a predicative expression, functioning like an adjective (similar to “worried”).

So the structure is:

• Äiti (subject)
• on (verb “is”)
• huolissaan (predicative, “worried”)
• pojasta (complement in elative, “about the boy”)

Could I say Äiti huolehtii pojasta instead? Does it mean the same thing?

Äiti huolehtii pojasta is correct Finnish, but the meaning is slightly different.

• Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.
  = The mother is emotionally worried about the boy.

• Äiti huolehtii pojasta.

  • huolehtia + elative often means “to take care of, to look after”.
    = The mother takes care of the boy / looks after the boy.

huolehtia can also mean “to worry about” in some contexts, but olla huolissaan is the clearest way to express emotional worry, while huolehtia pojasta easily suggests practical care or responsibility.

Why doesn’t Finnish need a pronoun like “she” in Äiti on huolissaan pojasta?

Finnish usually omits personal pronouns when the subject is already clear from the verb form or the noun.

Here, Äiti itself is the subject, so there’s no need for hän (“he/she”):

• Äiti on huolissaan pojasta.
  Literally: “Mother is worried about (the) boy.”

If you added hän, like Hän äiti on huolissaan…, it would be incorrect or at least very strange. The noun Äiti already gives the subject information, just as clearly as “Mother is worried…” in English.