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Nominative, genitive,
partitive: singular
These three cases are called grammatical, because they have special role in sentence: they mark up the subject and the object. There is also the accusative case, but some grammars doesn't mention it, because it looks like a genitive or a partitive.
Nominative
Nominative is the basic case found in dictionaries, it answers the question what? Nominative doesn't have any ending.
Genitive
Genitive tells the owner, and it answers the question whose?. You get the genitive by adding a -n after the stem.
|
talon pihan pullon verhon seinän juoman kynttilän korkean |
Consonant gradation makes this little bit more complicated: genitive is usually in the weak grade.
|
pappi : papin (a priest) kuppi : kupin (a cup) tukka : tukan (a hair) Pekka : Pekan satu : sadun (a tale) tunti : tunnin (an hour) |
One exeption is some words ending with -s. Then it's vice versa: nominative is in weak grade, and genitive in the strong grade:
|
rikas:rikkaan (rich) lammas:lampaan (a sheep) hammas:hampaan ( a tooth) |
Other exeptions and changes on stems:
Unfortunataly, it´s not as easy as that: there is some exeptitions. Usually the problem is with consonants, because you cannot add n after another consontant. That's why the stem transforms.
Because words cannot end with two n's, that's why -nen becomes -sen
|
ihminen:ihmisen (a human) nainen:naisen (a woman) Virtanen:Virtasen |
Words cannot end with -tn either:
|
olut:oluen (a beer) lyhyt: lyhyen (short) kevät:kevään (spring) |
Words ending with s are always difficult. Sometimes -kse must be added:
|
jänis:jäniksen (a rabbit) ajatus:ajatuksen (a tought) penis:peniksen (a penis) poikkeus:poikkeuksen (an exeption) |
or sometimes the s must be left out, and vowel lenghtened
|
taivas:taivaan (sky) oppilas:oppilaan (a pupil) kirves:kirveen (an axe) |
or sometimes de added
|
varkaus:varkauden (a theft) hyvyys:hyvyyden (goodnes) ystävyys:ystävyyden (friendship) |
or sometimes there are no rules:
|
mies:miehen (a man) sisar:sisaren (a sister) |
There are some exeptions with vowels aswell:
The last i becomes e in genitive:
|
kivi:kiven (a stone) pilvi: pilven (a cloud) kieli:kielen (a language) suuri:suuren (big) mäki:mäen (a hill) |
if the word ends with a short e, it becomes long e (e:ee)
|
huone:huoneen ( a room) vene:veneen (a boat) |
There are lots of rules, but if you know how to form genitive, you know all the other cases.
Partitive
Partitive answers the question what. It's important case, because object of the sentence is in partitive case.
| Minä syön leipää. I eat bread. |
You form the partitive case by adding -a or -ta -ending. You must also remember the vowel harmony.
|
talo : taloa (a house) juoma : juomaa (a drink) poikkeus : poikkeusta (exeption) pappi : pappia (priest) satu : satua (fairytale) maa : maata (earth, ground) |
a-ending is used, when the word ends with a short vowel:
|
auto:autoa (a car) liima:liimaa (glue) verho:verhoa (a curtain) satu:satua |
ta is used, when the last vowel is long vowel or a diphtong:
|
maa:maata (a land) työ:työtä(a job, a work) vyö:vyötä (a belt) |
or the word ends with consonant
|
askel:askelta ( a step) rikas:rikasta ajatus:ajatusta |
Partitive is in same grade as nominative and opposite grade as genitive, thus:
| pappi:papin:pappia tukka:tukan:tukkaa hammas:hampaan:hammasta |
All topics
- Vowel harmony
- Consonant gradation
- Verbs in general
- Personal forms
- Tempus
- Infinitives
- Verb types
- Negation
- Participles
- Nomines in general
- Nominative, genitive, partitive
- Essive, translative, abessive
- Location cases
- Pronouns
- Subjects and objects
- Types of senteces
- Questions
- Modifiers
- Derivation
- Orthography