Notes in Unit 1.8 Home

1.8 Home

This and that

Finnish makes a distinction between tämä, "this", and tuo, "that". Tämä refers to things, which are relatively close. If you are talking about concrete things, they are so close that you can touch them. Tuo is used for things that are more distant. If those things are concrete, they are still close enough for you to point at them. In English, you can say "This is Finland" or "That's Finland" to make a general statement about a certain northern country. In Finnish, Tämä on Suomi and Tuo on Suomi are possible only if you have a globe or a map in front of you to show others what you are talking about. Despite wild rumours, Finland is very much a concrete thing, not an imaginary fantasy land. Finland is also surprisingly large, so pointing it out accurately is rather challenging, unless you have really long arms.

Tämä on radio. This is a radio.

Tuo on televisio. That is a television.

Both tämä and tuo can also be used to define a noun that follows them. You are allowed a bit more imagination with these. You can often use tämä also when you are located within the concrete thing discussed.

Tämä talo on vanha. This house is old.

Tuo piha on kaunis. That yard is beautiful.

If you need to make a distinction between two things that are equally close, tämä precedes tuo.

Tämä sänky on uusi ja tuo on vanha. This bed is new and that one is old.

More to have

Finnish does not have a general verb for "to have". Instead, the verb olla, "to be", is used with the adessive forms of the word that's in the subject position in the English sentence. Here are all the adessive forms of the personal pronouns:

Whenever a pronoun precedes the verb and a noun follows it, the verb takes the form, on. The noun is almost always translated with an indefinite article.

Meillä on suuri asunto. We have a large apartment.

Nice and comfy

Mukava is used to describe being welcoming and being easy to be around with. The translation changes depending on what the word is describing. When it is used about people and animals the word describes behaviour and "nice" is the best translation. If you are talking about a sofa, a bed, a room, or a house, "comfortable" and "comfy" are good translations.

Musti on mukava koira. Musti is a nice dog.

Tuo sohva on todella mukava. That sofa is really comfortable.

Behold! My stuff!

Unlike in English, oma, "own", often appears without the company of words like "my", "our", or "their", if the subject of the sentence reveals whose stuff we are talking about. This is why any sentence that begins with a pronoun in the adessive does not refer to the owner for the second time.

Minulla on oma huone. I have a room of my own.

Meillä on oma asunto. We have an apartment of our own./We own an apartment.

Note that while the sentences above can sometimes also be translated with "I have my own room", or "We have our own apartment", the main purpose of the word oma is to simply express ownership and possession, so no need to be sassy.

I thingth I hab a golb

Nasal sounds suffer from a really bad cold.