Demonstratives: This & That (tämä / tuo / se)

01

The Three Demonstratives

• tämä - this: near the speaker
• tuo - that: further away but in view
• se - it / that: already mentioned or known, not necessarily visible

• Tämä on minun.

  This (here) is mine.

• Tuo talo on vanha.

  That house (over there) is old.

• Se oli hyvä idea.

  That was a good idea. (something just discussed)

02

The Plurals

Each demonstrative has its own plural.

• nämä - these, nuo - those, ne - those / they (known)

• Nämä ovat hyviä.

  These are good.

• Nuo ovat sinun kenkäsi.

  Those are your shoes.

• Ne ovat kalliita.

  Those are expensive.

03

They Decline Like Nouns

Demonstratives take the full set of case endings, just as nouns do.

• tässä, tuossa, siinä

  in this, in that, in it

• Asun tässä talossa.

  I live in this house.

• Laita se tuohon.

  Put it there (onto that spot).

04

"se" and "ne" in Everyday Speech

In casual spoken Finnish, se and ne serve as the ordinary words for "it" and "they", and are heard far more often than the formal personal pronouns hän and he - including, informally, for people.