Expressing 'to be' (olla) — Finnish Grammar

is the verb "to be" and the most frequently used verb in Finnish. It states identity, location, and condition, and it also builds the perfect tense and the "have" construction. Because it appears in so many structures, learning its forms thoroughly and early pays off across the whole language.

Present-Tense Forms

- I am
- you are
- he/she is
- we are
- you are
- they are

Olen suomalainen.
I am Finnish.
Hän on kotona.
He/she is at home.
Me olemme valmiita.
We are ready.

Past-Tense Forms

Eilen olin sairaana.
Yesterday I was ill.
He olivat kotona.
They were at home.

It Builds the "have" Structure

Finnish has no separate verb for "to have". Instead it puts the "on/at" ending on the owner and lets do the rest — literally "on me there is". The same structure covers physical states.

Minulla on aikaa.
I have time.
Minulla on nälkä.
I am hungry. (literally "on me is hunger")

It Carries the Perfect Tenses

Paired with a verb ending in -nut or -nyt, produces "have done"; put itself into the past and you get "had done".

Olen jo syönyt.
I have already eaten.
Olin jo lähtenyt.
I had already left.

The Negative

After the negative verb, is stripped back to .

En ole väsynyt.
I am not tired.
Hän ei ole täällä.
He/she is not here.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Finnish course

267 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Expressing 'to be' (olla)” is about in bold:

Tämä on ystäväni Anna. Hän on opiskelija.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Minulla on kaksi autoa, kaksi polkupyörää ja kolme moottoripyörää.
I have two cars, two bicycles, and three motorbikes.
Lesson 33
Tunnen oloni mahtavaksi! En ole sairas. Olen terve.
I feel great! I am not sick. I am healthy.
Lesson 64

Comments

Loading comments…