Learn Hardcore Finnish: Lasten lelut ovat lattialla. - The children's toys are on the floor.

lasten – basic form: lapsi (child).
- lasten is the genitive plural: “of the children / children’s”. It shows possession.
lelut – basic form: lelu (toy).
- lelut is the nominative plural: “toys”. It is the subject of the sentence.
lattialla – basic form: lattia (floor).
- lattialla is adessive singular: “on the floor”. The ending -lla/-llä often means “on” or “at” somewhere.

So the structure is literally: children’s toys are on floor-on.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this Finnish sentence?

Finnish does not have articles like English the or a/an.

Whether you understand lasten lelut as “the children’s toys” or “children’s toys” depends only on context, not on a specific word.

In a normal context, Lasten lelut ovat lattialla is most naturally translated:
- “The children’s toys are on the floor.”
But in a different context it could also be:
- “Children’s toys are on the floor.”

The Finnish form itself does not mark definiteness or indefiniteness.

Why is the verb ovat (are) used and not on (is)?

In Finnish, the verb olla (to be) must agree in number with the subject.

lelu (toy) → lelu on (the toy is)
lelut (toys) → lelut ovat (the toys are)

Here the subject is lelut (plural), so Finnish uses the third person plural form ovat rather than on.

What exactly does the case form lattialla mean, and how is it formed?

lattialla is:

base noun: lattia (floor)
case: adessive singular
ending: -lla / -llä attached to the stem: lattia + lla → lattialla

The adessive case often expresses:

location on a surface:
- pöydällä – on the table
- seinällä – on the wall
- lattialla – on the floor

So lattialla means “on the floor / on top of the floor”.

What is the difference between lattialla, lattialle and lattialta?

These three forms show different directions in space:

lattialla – adessive: being on the floor (static).
- Lelut ovat lattialla. – The toys are on the floor.
lattialle – allative: onto the floor (movement to).
- Lelut putosivat lattialle. – The toys fell onto the floor.
lattialta – ablative: off (from) the floor (movement from).
- Lelut otettiin lattialta. – The toys were picked up from the floor.

So the ending tells you whether something is on, going onto, or coming off the floor.

Why is lasten used for “children’s”? Could you also say lapsien?

The basic noun is lapsi (child). The standard genitive plural form is lasten:

lapsi → lasten (children’s, of the children)

You may sometimes see lapsien in dialectal, older, or poetic language, but in standard written Finnish, lasten is the normal and preferred form.

So in this sentence, Lasten lelut ovat lattialla, lasten is the correct and natural choice.

How does possession work here? Why lasten lelut instead of something like a possessive ending on lelu?

Finnish often shows possession by putting the possessor in the genitive in front of the possessed noun:

lapsi → lapsen lelu – the child’s toy
lapset → lasten lelut – the children’s toys

This pattern is very common:

koiran talo – the dog’s house
ystävän auto – the friend’s car

You can also add a possessive suffix to the possessed noun:

hänen lelunsa – his/her toy(s)
lasten lelunsa – the children’s own toys (emphasizing that the toys belong to them, often with some contrast or emphasis)

But the simple, neutral way to say “the children’s toys” is just lasten lelut.

Could I say “Lelut ovat lasten lattialla” instead? Would that mean the same thing?

No, the meaning changes.

Lasten lelut ovat lattialla.
- lasten modifies lelut → “the children’s toys are on the floor.”
Lelut ovat lasten lattialla.
- now lasten modifies lattialla → “the toys are on the children’s floor.”
- implies that there is some particular floor belonging to the children (for example, in a house with several floors or separate rooms/floors for different people).

So the word order of the genitive + noun group matters for who owns what. In lasten lelut, the children own the toys; in lasten lattialla, the children own the floor.

How free is the word order here? Could I move words around without changing the meaning?

Basic, neutral order is:

Lasten lelut ovat lattialla.
possessor – possessed – verb – place

You can move elements for emphasis or contrast, but then the focus changes. For example:

Lelut ovat lasten lattialla. – Now the emphasis is that the toys are on the children’s floor (not some other floor).
Lattialla ovat lasten lelut. – Sounds like “On the floor are the children’s toys” (highlighting where they are).

So Finnish allows some word-order variation, but the genitive normally stays directly in front of the word it owns, and movement usually affects emphasis, sometimes meaning.

Why is it lelut and not leluja? What is the difference?

Both are plural forms of lelu (toy), but they are different cases:

lelut – nominative plural: used for the subject or for a whole, definite set of items.
- Lasten lelut ovat lattialla. – The children’s toys (the specific toys in question) are on the floor.
leluja – partitive plural: often used for some toys, an indefinite amount, or in certain grammatical structures.
- Lattialla on leluja. – There are toys on the floor / There are some toys on the floor.

Here the sentence is talking about the particular toys that belong to the children, so lelut (nominative plural) is appropriate.

Could the verb ovat be left out, as sometimes happens in Finnish?

In some contexts, Finnish can omit olla (to be), especially in short answers or headlines:

Missä lelut? – Where are the toys?
Lelut lattialla. – (The) toys (are) on the floor.

But in a normal, complete sentence, especially in standard written Finnish, you include the verb:

Lasten lelut ovat lattialla.

Leaving ovat out here would sound like a note, caption, or very colloquial speech, not like a normal full sentence.