Vanha mies elää vielä.

old

Breakdown of Vanha mies elää vielä.

• mies: the man
• vielä: still
• elää: to live; be alive

Questions & Answers about Vanha mies elää vielä.

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

Finnish does not have articles. There is no direct equivalent of English a/an or the.

So vanha mies can mean:

• an old man
• the old man
• just old man in a general sense

The exact interpretation comes from context.

What case are vanha and mies in?

Both are in the nominative singular, which is the basic dictionary form.

That is what you normally use for the subject of a sentence:

• vanha mies = the subject
• elää = the verb
• vielä = an adverb

So this is a very basic sentence structure:

• [subject] + [verb] + [adverb]

Why is the adjective vanha in the same form as mies?