Case endings (sijapäätteet)
Finnish has no prepositions where German uses them: the ending does that job. For reference only – for now the exercise covers the genitive, because it supplies the stem on which all the other cases are built.
The cases at a glance
Example word: talo (house). The ending is attached to the stem; -a/-ä, -ssa/-ssä etc. follow vowel harmony (back vowels a, o, u require -a; front vowels ä, ö, y require -ä).
| Case | Ending | Formed from | German | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| genetiivi (genitive) | -n | stem | des Hauses (of the house); also the object of a completed action (accusative) | talon · Näen talon. (I see the house.) |
| partitiivi (partitive) | -a/-ä, -ta/-tä | see below | a part, an indefinite amount; negation; ongoing action | taloa · En näe taloa. (I don't see the house.) |
| inessiivi (inessive) | -ssa/-ssä | genitive stem | in (where?): im Haus (in the house) | talossa |
| elatiivi (elative) | -sta/-stä | genitive stem | aus, von … heraus (out of, from); also: über (talk about) | talosta |
| illatiivi (illative) | -Vn, -hVn, -seen | stem, strong grade | in (where to?): ins Haus (into the house) | taloon |
| adessiivi (adessive) | -lla/-llä | genitive stem | am, beim, auf (at, on); mit (means: with); possession: minulla on = I have | talolla |
| ablatiivi (ablative) | -lta/-ltä | genitive stem | von (… weg) (from, away from), vom Haus | talolta |
| allatiivi (allative) | -lle | genitive stem | zu, zum Haus (to, to the house); für (for someone) | talolle |
Which stem?
- -ssa, -sta, -lla, -lta, -lle: the genitive without its -n. The weak grade is kept: kadun → kadussa. That is why the genitive is the form that is practised.
- Illative: the strong grade, with the last vowel lengthened (-Vn): katu → katuun, kauppa → kauppaan. After a long vowel: -hVn (maa → maahan, työ → työhön). Stems in -ee- and -aa-: -seen (huone → huoneeseen).
- Partitive: vowel stems take -a/-ä (strong grade): taloa, katua, kylää. Consonant stems take -ta/-tä: naista, hammasta, lasta. Stems in -e take -tta/-ttä: huonetta.
Nominative plural = genitive stem + t
In Finnish the plural is not a lesson of its own: genitive without -n, then -t. The weak grade of the genitive stays.
- talo → talon → talot — houses
- katu → kadun → kadut — streets
- nainen → naisen → naiset — women
- lapsi → lapsen → lapset — children
- huone → huoneen → huoneet — rooms
The other plural forms (genitive, partitive and the locative cases in the plural) are built on a separate stem with -i- (taloissa, kaduilla) and come later.
One word through the cases
| Basic form | Genitive (genetiivi) | Inessive (inessiivi) | Illative (illatiivi) | Partitive (partitiivi) | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| talo | talon | talossa | taloon | taloa | house |
| katu | kadun | kadussa | katuun | katua | street |
| nainen | naisen | naisessa | naiseen | naista | woman |
| lapsi | lapsen | lapsessa | lapseen | lasta | child |
| kieli | kielen | kielessä | kieleen | kieltä | language |
| huone | huoneen | huoneessa | huoneeseen | huonetta | room |
| hammas | hampaan | hampaassa | hampaaseen | hammasta | tooth |
Stem types: Vartalo. Consonant gradation: Astevaihtelu. The forms in this table are standard Finnish and are not practised yet.