In the Finnish possessive structure the possessor appears in the adessive case
-lla ~ -llä; the form on of the verb olla follows, and then the person or thing
possessed.
Paavo/lla on uusi pyörä. Paavo has a new bicycle
(‘at’ Paavo is…).
Isä/llä on kaksi autoa. Father has two cars.
Suome/lla on hyvät mahdollisuudet. Finland has good chances.
Äidi/llä on silmälasit. Mother has glasses.
The adessive forms of the personal pronouns are very common.
minu/lla on I have mei/llä on we have
sinu/lla on you have tei/llä on you have
häne/llä on he/she has hei/llä on they have
For inalienable possession or ‘intimate connection’ the inessive case -ssa ~ -
ssä is used instead of the adessive.
Maa/ssa on uusi hallitus. The country has a newgovernment.
Venee/ssä on pitkä masto. The boat has a tall mast.
Puu/ssa on vihreät lehdet. The tree has green leaves.
Auto/ssa on neljä pyörää. The car has four wheels.
