The Finnish object: partitive, -n or nominative (objekti)

In Finnish the object is either in the partitive (a part, not completed, negated) or in the total form. Depending on the sentence, the total form looks like the genitive (-n), like the nominative or (for pronouns) ends in -t. The context decides; the exercise shows sentences with a gap where exactly one form fits.

Negation: partitive

In a negated sentence the object is always in the partitive.

Not completed: partitive

If the action is still going on or has not been finished, the object is in the partitive: Isä lukee vielä kirjaa (he is still reading the book). Clues: vielä, yhä, a sentence that says it is not finished. The same verb with loppuun or kokonaan refers to the result (see below).

Indefinite amount: partitive

Substances and indefinite amounts are in the partitive: juon vettä, ostan paljon leipää, kupin teetä (after measures). Countable things in an indefinite number are in the partitive plural: paljon kirjoja, kilon tomaatteja.

Partitive verbs

Some verbs require the partitive even when nothing is negated or unfinished. Mostly they express feelings or states: rakastaa (to love), odottaa (to wait for), pelätä (to be afraid of), kaivata (to miss), auttaa (to help), vihata (to hate), inhota (to detest), katsella (to look at), tarvita (to need), arvostaa (to appreciate). More on this on the page about verb government.

Result: genitive form (-n)

If the action is completed and the object is affected as a whole, the singular takes the form in -n, which looks like the genitive: Luin kirjan loppuun (I read the book to the end), söin omenan kokonaan.

Imperative, täytyy, passive: nominative

In the singular the total object has no ending -n but is in the nominative when the sentence has an imperative, a verb like täytyy (one must) or a passive: Sulje ovi!, Minun täytyy maksaa lasku, Ensin avataan ovi. The object then looks like a subject.

Numbers from 2: partitive singular

After a number from two upwards, the thing counted is in the partitive singular: kaksi kirjaa, kolme omenaa, kymmenen lautasta. As an object it stays that way.

Plural, total object: -t

A total object in the plural has the ending -t (nominative plural): Luin kaikki kirjat, Söin kaikki omenat. Typical are words like kaikki (all) and molemmat (both).

Personal pronouns: minut, sinut ...

The pronouns have a form of their own for the total object, ending in -t: minut, sinut, hänet, meidät, teidät, heidät. The partitive is minua, sinua, häntä, meitä, teitä, heitä.