Английская Википедия:Finnish grammar
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Refimprove
The Finnish language is spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns elsewhere. Unlike the languages spoken in neighbouring countries, such as Swedish and Norwegian, which are North Germanic languages, or Russian, which is a Slavic language, Finnish is a Uralic language of the Finnic languages group. Typologically, Finnish is agglutinative.[1] As in some other Uralic languages, Finnish has vowel harmony, and like other Finnic languages, it has consonant gradation.
Pronouns
The pronouns are inflected in the Finnish language much in the same way that their referent nouns are.
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are used to refer to human beings only. The personal pronouns in Finnish in the nominative case are listed in the following table:
Personal pronouns Finnish English Singular Шаблон:Lang I Шаблон:Lang you/thou Шаблон:Lang he/she Plural Шаблон:Lang we Шаблон:Lang you/y'all/ye Шаблон:Lang they Polite Шаблон:Lang you
Because Finnish verbs are inflected for person and number, in the Finnish standard language subject pronouns are not required, and the first and second-person pronouns are usually omitted except when used for emphasis. In the third person, however, the pronoun is required: Шаблон:Lang '(s)he goes', Шаблон:Lang 'they go'. In spoken Finnish, all pronouns are generally used, even without emphatic meaning.
In colloquial Finnish, the inanimate pronouns Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang are very commonly used in place of the singular and plural animate third-person pronouns, respectively. Use of Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang is mostly restricted to writing and formal or markedly polite speech as this clear distinction has never occurred naturallyШаблон:Clarify in the language. Do note the animals are marked as less animate and are therefore never referred to as Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang. Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang are usually replaced with colloquial forms. The most common variants are Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang, though, in some dialects Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang are used. On the other hand, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang lack reduced colloquial forms, so variants such as Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, and Шаблон:Lang of some eastern varieties are dialectal. Some common verbs, such as Шаблон:Lang "to be" and Шаблон:Lang "to come", exhibit similarly reduced colloquial forms:
Personal pronouns Written/formal Spoken/colloquial Singular Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Plural Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Polite Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang
The second-person plural can be used as a polite form when addressing one person, as in some Indo-European languages. However, this usage is diminishing in Finnish society.
Demonstrative pronouns
The demonstratives are used of non-human animate entities and inanimate objects. However, Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang is often used to refer to humans in colloquial Finnish. (This usage is quite correct in a demonstrative sense, i.e. when qualified by the relative pronoun Шаблон:Lang, and in fact, it is hypercorrect to replace a demonstrative Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang with Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang just because the antecedent is human.) Furthermore, the demonstratives are used to refer to group nouns and the number of the pronoun must correlate with the number of its referent.
Demonstrative pronouns Finnish English Singular Шаблон:Lang this Шаблон:Lang that Шаблон:Lang it/that Plural Шаблон:Lang these Шаблон:Lang those Шаблон:Lang they/those
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns Finnish English Шаблон:Lang who, which (of many) Шаблон:Lang who, which (of many) — old or dialectal word Шаблон:Lang what, which (of many) Шаблон:Lang which (of two) Шаблон:Lang which (of two) — old or dialectal word
Шаблон:Lang is now archaic, but its inflected forms are used instead of those of Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang instead of Шаблон:Lang ("whom"): Шаблон:Lang "Whom do you love?"
Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns Pronoun Example English Шаблон:Lang
(refers to preceding word)Шаблон:Lang "s/he is the only one whom (I) remember" Шаблон:Lang
(refers to preceding clause/sentence or
to a pronoun or a superlative that refers to a thing)Шаблон:Lang "it is the only thing that (I) remember"
Reciprocal pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns Pronoun Example English toinen Шаблон:Lang "they love each other" (plural) Шаблон:Lang "they love one another" (dual)
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns Pronoun Suffix Example English Шаблон:Lang plus corresponding possessive suffix Шаблон:Lang "(I) made myself some tea"
Indefinite pronouns
A large group that entails all of the pronouns that do not fall into any of the categories above. Notice that there are no negative pronouns, such as "nobody"; rather, the positive pronoun is negated with the negative verb Шаблон:Lang. No double negatives are possible.
Indefinite pronouns Finnish English Шаблон:Lang (uninflected) every, each Шаблон:Lang every, everyone Шаблон:Lang some, someone (person) Шаблон:Lang either one Шаблон:Lang some, something (animal, thing) Шаблон:Lang each one Шаблон:Lang both (old or dialectal) Шаблон:Lang both Шаблон:Lang each thing (dialectal) Шаблон:Lang anyone (old or poetic) Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Abbr), Шаблон:Lang (oblique) anyone → Шаблон:Lang no one Шаблон:Lang either one → Шаблон:Lang neither one Шаблон:Lang anything → Шаблон:Lang nothing Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Abbr), Шаблон:Lang (oblique) the ordinal pronoun (representing first, second, etc.)
Each pronoun declines. However, the endings Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang are clitics, and case endings are placed before them, e.g. Шаблон:Lang "any", Шаблон:Lang "from any". There are irregular nominatives. As indicated, Шаблон:Lang is an irregular nominative; the regular root is Шаблон:Lang with Шаблон:Lang, e.g. Шаблон:Lang "(not) anyone", Шаблон:Lang "from (not) anyone".
English lacks a direct equivalent to the pronoun Шаблон:Lang; it would be "that-th", or "which-th" for questions. For example, Шаблон:Lang "The reward depends on as-which-th one comes to the finish", or explicitly "The reward depends on in which position one comes to the finish". It would be difficult to translate the question Шаблон:Lang, but, although far from proper English, the question How manyeth may give an English-speaking person an idea of the meaning.
Some indefinite adjectives are often perceived as indefinite pronouns. These include:
Indefinite adjectives Finnish English Шаблон:Lang the only one Шаблон:Lang some, certain, one Шаблон:Lang few Шаблон:Lang (non-reflexive) self Шаблон:Lang all, everyone, everything Шаблон:Lang both Шаблон:Lang many Шаблон:Lang other Шаблон:Lang some, a few Шаблон:Lang same Шаблон:Lang (non-reciprocal, non-numeral use) another
Noun forms
The Finnish language does not distinguish grammatical gender in nouns or even in personal pronouns: Шаблон:Lang is 'he', 'she' or 'they' (singular) depending on the referent. There are no articles, neither definite nor indefinite.
Possessive suffixes
Cases
Шаблон:Main Finnish has fifteen noun cases: four grammatical cases, six locative cases, two essive cases (three in some Eastern dialects), and three marginal cases.
Some notes about the cases listed in the table above:
- There is historically some difference of opinion as to the character and indeed existence (for most words) of the accusative case in modern Finnish. The recent, authoritative grammar Iso suomen kielioppi takes the position that only the personal pronouns and the personal interrogative pronoun Шаблон:Lang have a true accusative case which is distinguished by the suffix Шаблон:Lang. For nouns, adjectives, numerals, and other pronouns, there is no accusative case; instead, these words take the nominative or genitive in object positions (where they do not take the partitive). This differs from the more traditional view, to which many learners' grammars still adhere, that there are accusative forms that appear identical to the nominative or genitive. This traditional view is based on known diachronic phonological changes in the language.
- A noun in the comitative case is always followed by a possessive suffix. However, as is typical in Finnish, an adjective does not take possessive suffixes: Шаблон:Lang "A man with his luxurious house(s)", with comitative Шаблон:Lang on both the adjective and noun, but the third person possessive suffix Шаблон:Lang on the noun only.
- Regarding the illative suffix Шаблон:Lang: "V" stands in for a preceding (short) vowel: Шаблон:Lang yields Шаблон:Lang, but Шаблон:Lang yields Шаблон:Lang.
Relationship between locative cases
As in other Uralic languages, locative cases in Finnish can be classified according to three criteria: the spatial position (interior or surface), the motion status (stationary or moving), and within the latter, the direction of the movement (approaching or departing). The classification captures a morphophonological pattern that distinguishes interior and surface spatial position; long consonants (Шаблон:IPA in Шаблон:Lang / Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:IPA in Шаблон:Lang / Шаблон:Lang) express stationary motion, whereas a Шаблон:IPA expresses "movement from". The table below shows these relationships schematically:
| Spatial position | Motion status | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stationary | Moving | ||
| approaching | departing | ||
| Interior | inessive ('in') Шаблон:Lang |
illative ('into') Шаблон:Lang |
elative ('out of') Шаблон:Lang |
| Surface | adessive ('on') Шаблон:Lang |
allative ('onto') Шаблон:Lang |
ablative ('off from') Шаблон:Lang |
Plurals
Finnish nominal plurals are often marked by Шаблон:Lang (though Шаблон:Lang is a suppletive variant in the nominative and accusative, as is common in Uralic languages). Singular and plural numbers cross-cut the distinctions in grammatical cases, and several number/case combinations have somewhat idiosyncratic uses. Several of these deserve special mention.
Nominative/accusative plural
The nominative plural is used for definite count nouns that are subjects, while the plural object of a telic verb bears the accusative plural. The syncretic suffix that covers both uses is Шаблон:Lang. This suffix can only appear in the word-final position; i.e. it is omitted when a possessive suffix is present.Шаблон:Clarify
Nominative plural Finnish English Шаблон:Lang "The dogs were in the room" Шаблон:Lang "The rooms were large" Шаблон:Lang "I too saw the dogs"
Numerals
Шаблон:Details When a noun is modified by a numeral not equal to one, and the numeral is in the nominative singular, the noun bears the partitive singular. Otherwise, the noun and the numeral agree with each other in number and case.
Following numerals Finnish English Шаблон:Lang "there were two dogs in the room" Шаблон:Lang "the house had three rooms" Шаблон:Lang "I bought a computer for a thousand euros" Шаблон:Lang "I need two pairs of shoes"
Inflected plural
This uses the stem of the partitive plural inflected with the same set of endings as for singular nouns. The suffix is Шаблон:Lang, and it suppresses long vowels; it may only appear before another suffix.
Inflected plural Finnish English Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang '(some) rooms' → Шаблон:Lang 'in rooms'
As a combined example of plurals
Inflected plural Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'the bird is in the tree' → Шаблон:Lang 'the birds are in the trees'
Inflection of pronouns
The personal pronouns are inflected in the same way as nouns, and can be found in most of the same cases as nouns. For example:
Inflection of pronouns Finnish Case Example English Шаблон:Lang nominative 'I' Шаблон:Lang genitive ('my, mine') Шаблон:Lang 'this house is mine' Шаблон:Lang 'this is my house' Шаблон:Lang accusative Шаблон:Lang 's/he knows me' Шаблон:Lang partitive Шаблон:Lang 's/he loves me' Шаблон:Lang inessive Шаблон:Lang 'this provokes (Шаблон:Abbr awakens) anger in me' Шаблон:Lang elative Шаблон:Lang 's/he was talking about/of me'. Also used idiomatically to mean 'in my opinion'. Шаблон:Lang illative Шаблон:Lang 's/he believed in me' Шаблон:Lang adessive Шаблон:Lang 'I've got some money' (lit.'On me there's money') Шаблон:Lang ablative Шаблон:Lang 's/he took some money from/off me'. Шаблон:Lang allative Шаблон:Lang 'give me some money' Шаблон:Lang essive Шаблон:Lang 'If I were you, I wouldn't do it' (Шаблон:Abbr 'as you') Шаблон:Lang translative Шаблон:Lang 's/he is often mistaken for me'
Noun/adjective stem types
The stem of a word is the part to which inflectional endings are affixed. For most noun and adjective types, the nominative case is identical to the basic stem (the nominative is unmarked).
Vowel stems
A word with a vowel stem is one that ends in a vowel in the nominative, and retains a final vowel in all forms. The stem vowel can however change in certain inflected forms:
The change of original (pre-Proto-Finnic) final *e to Шаблон:Lang means that the stem vowel of a word ending in Шаблон:Lang cannot be determined from the nominative alone; one of the inflected forms must be consulted. However, most old inherited words ending in Шаблон:Lang decline as e-stems (or consonants stems, see below), while modern loans, where Шаблон:Lang frequently is added for phonotactic reasons (as in the case of Шаблон:Lang), always decline as i-stems.
Consonant stems
A word with a consonant stem is one where case suffixes can in some cases be affixed directly after the last consonant for at least some forms. Words with consonant stems come in three broad classes.
The first class of consonant-stem words largely resemble e-stems, but allow elision of the stem vowel in the partitive singular, and for certain words, plural genitive. In the later case, this involves a special allomorph Шаблон:Lang, employing the plural marker Шаблон:Lang rather than Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang.
The final consonant in words of this class must be one of h, l, m, n, r, s, t. Other remarks for e-stem words still apply.
English stem singular Шаблон:Abbr [[Genitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] Шаблон:Abbr [[Partitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] plural Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Notes goat Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang wind Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang broth Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang m → n before t. sound Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang bow Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang
Words of this type may have somewhat irregular declension due to additional historical changes:
English stem singular Шаблон:Abbr [[Genitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] Шаблон:Abbr [[Partitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] plural Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Notes child Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang The first consonant in a cluster of three is lost: Cs + t → st. knife Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang hand Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang ti becomes si. (Variation of t/d, nt/nn is regular and due to consonant gradation.) nail Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang two Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang In addition to the previous changes, kt and ktt become ht/hd.
For some words of this type, modern Finnish displays a tendency of development from consonant-stems to e-stems. For example, the partitive singular of the word Шаблон:Lang "bird cherry" may be Шаблон:Lang (consonant stem) or Шаблон:Lang (vowel stem).
Another class of consonant-stem words end in a consonant even in the nominative; if a stem vowel is required for phonotactic reasons, e again appears. Modern Finnish only allows dental and alveolar consonants (l, n, r, s, t) to occur as word-final, but originally, words ending in h, k, m were possible as well.
English stem singular Шаблон:Abbr [[Genitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] Шаблон:Abbr [[Partitive case|Шаблон:Abbr]] plural Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr Notes joint Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang core Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang m → n when word-final or before t. perch Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang sister Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang beer Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang t disappears in vowel-stem forms due to consonant gradation.
Nouns ending in -s
Vocalization or lenition is found in addition to any possible consonant gradation, e.g. Шаблон:Lang (nominative) ~ Шаблон:Lang (genitive), or Шаблон:Lang ~ Шаблон:Lang. The illatives are marked thus: Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang.
-nen nouns
This is a very large class of words which includes common nouns (for example Шаблон:Lang 'woman'), many proper names, and many common adjectives. Adding Шаблон:Lang to a noun is a very productive mechanism for creating adjectives (Шаблон:Lang 'dirt, filth' → Шаблон:Lang 'dirty'; Шаблон:Lang 'joy' → Шаблон:Lang 'merry, happy'; Шаблон:Lang 'plastic' → Шаблон:Lang 'made of plastic'/'plastic-like' ). It can also function as a diminutive ending.
The form behaves as if it ended in Шаблон:Lang, with the exception of the nominative, where it is Шаблон:Lang. Thus, the stem for these words removes the Шаблон:Lang and adds Шаблон:Lang after which the inflectional ending is added:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'in the plastic bag' Шаблон:Lang 'two plastic toys' Шаблон:Lang 'into the plastic box'
Here are some of the diminutive forms that are in use:
Finnish Stemming from English Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'a small hand' (affectionate) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'birdie', 'a small bird' Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'lad' Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'booklet' Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'a little flower' Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'a little child'
A special class of Finnish nouns in -nen are surnames. Some of these are very old and often their original meaning is not readily apparent to a modern speaker. Many were later coined on the -nen pattern and these often have the suffix added to a word meaning a natural feature. Some representative examples are:
Finnish From word English Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang blacksmith (of a blacksmith's family) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'deaf' (of a deaf man's family) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'sorrowful, melancholic'; alternatively male name Шаблон:Lang as short for Leonard Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang... Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang 'the family from by the stream (Шаблон:Lang), river (Шаблон:Lang), lake (Шаблон:Lang), peninsula (Шаблон:Lang)' Шаблон:Lang [A family name assimilated from the name of the farmhouse, after the householder's name 'Mikko'] Шаблон:Lang possible origin Шаблон:Lang, a South Karelian surnameШаблон:Source? Шаблон:Lang from Шаблон:Lang, originating to Germanic male name LydeckeШаблон:Source?
The suffix Шаблон:Lang also occurs in place-names. Many place-names ending with Шаблон:Lang assume a plural form when inflected. For instance, the illative of Шаблон:Lang is Шаблон:Lang instead of singular Шаблон:Lang.
-e nouns
Older *-h and *-k-stems have changed rather drastically. The consonant does not survive in any form of the paradigm, and these nouns make the appearance of ending in an unchanging Шаблон:Lang. However, the former existence of a consonant is still seen in that the dictionary form represents weak gradation, and each word has two stems, a weak grade stem in which the former final consonant has assimilated (used for the partitive singular), and strong grade vowel stem to which most case suffixes are applied. The vowel stem has an additional Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang 'family' → Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, etc.; which represents the historical loss of a medial consonant which is sometimes found in dialects as an Шаблон:Lang (e.g,. Шаблон:Lang 'rust' → Шаблон:Lang).
By analogy, in standard Finnish all words ending in 'e' behave as former Шаблон:Lang stems. In some dialects, the Шаблон:Lang stems have however shifted to Шаблон:Lang instead, e.g. standard Шаблон:Lang, in Pohjanmaa Шаблон:Lang ← Шаблон:Lang. The illative case also changes form with a consonant stem, where the ending Шаблон:Lang is assibilated to Шаблон:Lang, as Шаблон:Lang is the genitive.
The weak grade stem, which is found in the 'dictionary' form results from another historic change in which a final consonant has been lost. This is important to word inflection, because the partitive ending is suffixed directly onto this stem, where the consonant has been assimilated to a Шаблон:Lang instead of being lost. Other case endings are suffixed to the strong grade/vowel stem.
-e nouns case Шаблон:Lang 'room' Шаблон:Lang 'device' partitive Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Lang
'two rooms'Шаблон:Lang
'two devices'nominative Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Lang
'rooms'Шаблон:Lang
'devices'inessive Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Lang
'in the room'Шаблон:Lang
'in the device'illative Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Lang
'into the room'Шаблон:Lang
'into the device'
More of this phenomenon is discussed in Finnish Phonology: Sandhi.
Adjectives
Adjectives in Finnish are inflected in exactly the same way as nouns, and an adjective must agree in number and case with the noun it is modifying.
For example, here are some adjectives:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'big' Шаблон:Lang 'small' Шаблон:Lang 'red'
And here are some examples of adjectives inflected to agree with nouns:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'in front of the big house' Шаблон:Lang 'two small houses' Шаблон:Lang 'in the red house'
Notice that the adjectives undergo the same sorts of stem changes when they are inflected as nouns do.
Comparative formation
The comparative of the adjective is formed by adding Шаблон:Lang to the inflecting stem. For example:
Finnish English Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'big' Шаблон:Lang 'bigger' Шаблон:Lang 'small' Шаблон:Lang 'smaller' Шаблон:Lang 'red' Шаблон:Lang 'redder'
Since the comparative adjective is still an adjective, it must be inflected to agree with the noun it modifies. To make the inflecting stem of the comparative, the Шаблон:Lang ending loses its final i. If the syllable context calls for a weak consonant, the Шаблон:Lang becomes Шаблон:Lang. Then Шаблон:Lang is added before the actual case ending (or Шаблон:Lang in plural). This should become clear with a few examples:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'in front of the bigger house' Шаблон:Lang 'two smaller houses' Шаблон:Lang 'in the redder house' Шаблон:Lang 'in the redder houses'
Superlative formation
The superlative of the adjective is formed by adding Шаблон:Lang to the inflecting stem. For example:
Superlative formation Finnish English Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'big' Шаблон:Lang 'biggest' Шаблон:Lang 'red' Шаблон:Lang 'reddest'
Note that because the superlative marker vowel is Шаблон:Lang, the same kind of changes can occur with vowel stems as happen in verb imperfects, and noun inflecting plurals:
Finnish English Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'small' Шаблон:Lang (not *Шаблон:Lang) 'smallest'
Since the superlative adjective is still an adjective, it must be inflected to agree with the noun it modifies. The Шаблон:Lang becomes either Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang (plural Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang) depending on whether the syllable context calls for a weak or strong consonant. Here are the examples:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'in front of the biggest house' Шаблон:Lang 'the two smallest houses' Шаблон:Lang 'in the reddest house' Шаблон:Lang 'in the reddest houses'
Irregular forms
The most important irregular form is:
Main irregular form Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'good, better, best'
The form Шаблон:Lang "good" is not found in standard Finnish, but can be found in the Southern Ostrobothnian dialect.
Notice also:
More irregular forms Finnish Hypothetic regular English Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'long, longer, longest' Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang 'short, shorter, shortest'
(although the standard forms are also used)
There are a small number of other irregular comparative and superlative forms, such as:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'new, newer, newest'
Where the inflecting stem is Шаблон:Lang but the superlative is Шаблон:Lang = 'newest'.
Postpositions and prepositions
Postpositions are more common in Finnish than prepositions. Both postpositions and prepositions can be combined with either a noun or a possessive suffix to form a postpositional phrase.
Postpositions
Postpositions indicate place, time, cause, consequence or relation. In postpositional phrases the noun is usually in genitive:
Postpositions Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'under the table' Шаблон:Lang 'after Christmas' Шаблон:Lang 'for the sake of the children' Шаблон:Lang 'on behalf of somebody'
The noun (or pronoun) can be omitted when there is a possessive suffix:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang '(I) am next to (you)' or
'(I) am by (your) side'
As with verbs, the pronoun cannot be omitted in the third person (singular or plural):
- Шаблон:Lang "I was with you"
- but Шаблон:Lang "I was with him/her"
- Шаблон:Lang "I will come with you (plural or polite)"
- but Шаблон:Lang "I will come with them"
Prepositions
There are few important prepositions in Finnish. In prepositional phrases the noun is always in the partitive:
Prepositions Finnish English Шаблон:Lang before Christmas Шаблон:Lang without you
Some postpositions can also be used as prepositions:
Postpositions as prepositions Postposition Preposition English Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang in the middle of the village
Using postpositions as prepositions is not strictly incorrect and occurs in poetry, as in, for example, the song "Шаблон:Lang" "under a maple tree", instead the usual Шаблон:Lang.
Verb forms
Шаблон:Main Шаблон:Wiktionary Finnish verbs are usually divided into seven groups depending on the stem type. All seven types have the same set of endings, but the stems undergo (slightly) different changes when inflected.
There are very few irregular verbs in Finnish. In fact, only Шаблон:Lang = 'to be' has two irregular forms Шаблон:Lang "is" and Шаблон:Lang "are (Шаблон:Abbr)"; other forms follow from the stem Шаблон:Lang; e.g. Шаблон:Lang ← Шаблон:Lang "you are", Шаблон:Lang ← Шаблон:Lang "let it be". A handful of verbs, including Шаблон:Lang "to see", Шаблон:Lang "to do/make", and Шаблон:Lang "to run" have rare consonant mutation patterns which are not derivable from the infinitive. In spoken Finnish, some frequently used verbs (Шаблон:Lang) have irregular stems (Шаблон:Lang, instead of Шаблон:Lang ("go, come, be, put"), respectively).
Finnish does not have a separate verb for possession (compare English "to have"). Possession is indicated in other ways, mainly by genitives and existential clauses. For animate possessors, the adessive case is used with Шаблон:Lang, for example Шаблон:Lang = 'the dog has a tail' – literally 'on the dog is a tail', or in English grammar, "There is a tail on the dog". This is similar to Irish and Welsh forms such as "There is a hunger on me".
Tense-aspect forms
Finnish verbs have present, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect tense-aspect forms.
- Present (nonpast): corresponds to English present and future tense forms. For the latter, a time qualifier may need to be used to avoid ambiguity. The present is formed with using the personal suffixes only. For example, Шаблон:Lang "I take" (from Шаблон:Lang, "to take").
- Imperfect: actually a preterite, but called "imperfect" for historical reasons; corresponds to English past continuous and past simple, indicating a past action which is complete but might have been a point event, a temporally extended event, or a repeated event. The imperfect is formed with the suffix Шаблон:Lang in addition to the personal suffixes, e.g. Шаблон:Lang "I took".
- Perfect: corresponds to the English present perfect ("I have eaten") in most of its usages, but can carry more sense than in English of a past action with present effects. The form uses the verb Шаблон:Lang "to be" in the present tense as an auxiliary verb. Personal suffixes are added to the auxiliary, while the main verb is in the Шаблон:Lang participle form. For example, Шаблон:Lang "I have taken", where Шаблон:Lang is the auxiliary verb stem, Шаблон:Lang is the personal suffix for "I", Шаблон:Lang is the stem for the main verb, and Шаблон:Lang is the participle marker.
- Pluperfect: corresponds to the English past perfect ("I had visited") in its usage. Similarly to perfect, the verb Шаблон:Lang is used in the past tense as an auxiliary verb. For example, Шаблон:Lang "I had taken".
As stated above, Finnish has no grammatical future tense. To indicate futurity, a Finnish speaker may use forms that are, by some, deprecated as ungrammatical. One is the use of the verb Шаблон:Lang, 'to come', as it were as an auxiliary: Шаблон:Lang 'This is going to be a problem', cf Swedish Шаблон:Lang. Another, less common and now archaic, is to use the verb Шаблон:Lang, 'to be', with the present passive participle of the main verb: Шаблон:Lang 'For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord' (Luke 1:15).
Voices
Finnish has two possible verb voices: active and passive. The active voice corresponds with the active voice of English, but the Finnish passive voice has some important differences from the English passive voice.
Passive voice
The so-called Finnish passive is impersonal and unipersonal, that is, it only appears in one form regardless of who is implicitly understood to be the performer of the action. In that respect, it could be described as a "fourth person" since there is no way of connecting the action performed with a particular agent (except for some nonstandard forms; see below). It is called "passive" for historical reasons in imitation of Swedish and Latin grammars, but this term is in fact incorrect because the object of an active sentence remains an object in the equivalent Finnish "passive" sentence, in other words, the Finnish "passive" sentence is in fact active. In languages with true passives, an active sentence's object becomes the subject in the equivalent passive sentence. Active: Шаблон:Lang "we will arrest him" => passive: Шаблон:Lang "he will be arrested".
Consider the example: Шаблон:Lang "the house will be painted". The time when the house is being painted could be added: Шаблон:Lang "the house will be painted in November". The colour and method could be added: Шаблон:Lang "the house will be painted red with a brush". But nothing can be said about the person who will do the painting; there is no simple way to say "the house will be painted by Jim". There is a calque, evidently from Swedish, Шаблон:Lang "by the action of", that can be used to introduce the agent: Шаблон:Lang, approximately "The house will be painted by the action of Jim". This type of expression is considered prescriptively incorrect, but it may be found wherever direct translations from Swedish, English, etc. are made, especially in legal texts, and has traditionally been a typical feature of Finnish "officialese".Шаблон:Citation needed An alternative form, passive + ablative, also a calque from Swedish, was once common but is now archaic.
Notice also that the object is in the form of the accusative that has the same form as the nominative case (which is true of all words except for the personal pronouns). Verbs which govern the partitive case continue to do so in the passive, and where the object of the action is a personal pronoun in the accusative, that goes into its special accusative form: Шаблон:Lang "I/you/(s)he/we/you/they was/were forgotten". Whether the object of a passive verb should be termed the subject of the clause has been debated, but traditionally Finnish grammars have considered a passive clause to have no subject.
Use of the passive voice is not as common in Finnish as in Germanic languages; sentences in the active voice are preferred, if possible. Confusion may result, as the agent is lost and becomes ambiguous. For instance, a bad translation of the English "the PIN code is asked for by the device when..." into Шаблон:Lang raises the question "who asks?", whereas Шаблон:Lang ("the device asks for the PIN code when...") is unambiguous. Nevertheless, this usage of the passive is common in Finnish, particularly in literary and official contexts. Occasionally this leads to extreme cases such as Шаблон:Lang "it is wanted that the municipal board be dismissed", implying that a popular uprising could be near, when this suggestion could also be made by a political group in the town council consisting of only a few or theoretically (very unlikely because misleading) even a single person.[2]
It can also be said that in the Finnish passive the agent is always human and never mentioned. A sentence such as 'the tree was blown down' would translate poorly into Finnish if the passive were used, since it would suggest the image of a group of people trying to blow the tree down.
Colloquially, the first-person plural indicative and imperative are replaced by the passive, e.g. Шаблон:Lang ("we'll go to our place") and Шаблон:Lang ("let us go to our place") are replaced by Шаблон:Lang (see spoken Finnish).[3]
Because of its vagueness about who is performing the action, the passive can also translate the English "one does (something)", "(something) is generally done", as in Шаблон:Lang "they say that..."
Formation of the passive is dealt with in the article on Finnish verb conjugation.
As first-person plural
In modern colloquial Finnish, the passive form of the verb is used instead of the active first-person plural in the indicative and the imperative, to the almost complete exclusion of the standard verb forms. For example, in the indicative, the standard form is Шаблон:Lang 'we are going', but the colloquial form is Шаблон:Lang. Without the personal pronoun Шаблон:Lang, the passive alone replaces the first-person plural imperative, as in Шаблон:Lang 'Let's go!'. In colloquial speech, the pronoun Шаблон:Lang cannot be omitted without confusion, unlike when using the standard forms Шаблон:Lang (indicative) and Шаблон:Lang (imperative).
Zero person
The so-called "zero person" is a construct in which a verb appears in the third-person singular with no subject, and the identity of the subject must be understood from the context. Typically the implied subject is either the speaker or their interlocutor, or the statement is intended in a general sense. The zero person has some similarity to the English use of the formal subject Шаблон:Lang.
- Шаблон:Lang "In the sauna, one sweats"
- Шаблон:Lang "If you arrive in good time, you get a better seat"
Moods
Indicative
The indicative is the form of the verb used for making statements or asking simple questions. In the verb morphology sections, the mood referred to will be the indicative unless otherwise stated.
Conditional
The conditional mood expresses the idea that the action or state expressed by the verb may or may not actually happen. As in English, the Finnish conditional is used in conditional sentences (for example "I would tell you if I knew") and in polite requests (for example "I would like some coffee").
In the former case, and unlike in English, the conditional must be used in both halves of the Finnish sentence:
- Шаблон:Lang = *"I would understand if you would speak more slowly".
The characteristic morphology of the Finnish conditional is 'isi' inserted between the verb stem and the personal ending. This can result in a closed syllable becoming open and so trigger consonant gradation:
- Шаблон:Lang = 'I know', Шаблон:Lang = 'I would know'.
- Шаблон:Lang = 'I want', Шаблон:Lang = 'I would like'.
Conditional forms exist for both active and passive voices, and for present tense and perfect.
The conditional can be used for added politeness when offering, requesting, or pleading: Шаблон:Lang 'Would you like some coffee?'; Шаблон:Lang 'May I have that red one?'; Шаблон:Lang 'I do wish you would tell me'.
Imperative
The imperative mood is used to express commands. In Finnish, there is only one tense form (the present-future). The possible variants of Finnish imperatives are:
- 1st, 2nd or 3rd person
- singular or plural
- active or passive
- positive or negative
Active, 2nd-person imperatives
These are the most common forms of the imperative: "Do this", "Don't do that".
The singular imperative is simply the verb's present tense without any personal ending (that is, remove the Шаблон:Lang from the first-person-singular form):
Active, 2nd-person imperatives Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'come!' Шаблон:Lang 'eat!' Шаблон:Lang 'note!'
To make this negative, Шаблон:Lang (which is the active imperative singular 2nd person of the negative verb) is placed before the positive form:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'don't say!' Шаблон:Lang 'don't go!' Шаблон:Lang 'don't lie!'
(from Шаблон:Lang "to lie", type II)
To form the plural, add Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang to the verb's stem:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'come!' Шаблон:Lang 'drink!' Шаблон:Lang 'measure!'
(from Шаблон:Lang "to measure", type IV)
To make this negative, Шаблон:Lang (which is the active imperative present plural 2nd person of the negative verb) is placed before the positive form and the suffix Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang is added to the verb stem:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'don't say!' Шаблон:Lang 'don't go!' Шаблон:Lang 'don't offer!'
Note that 2nd-person-plural imperatives can also be used as polite imperatives when referring to one person.
The Finnish language has no simple equivalent to the English "please". The Finnish equivalent is to use either Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang = 'be good', but it is generally omitted. Politeness is normally conveyed by tone of voice, facial expression, and use of conditional verbs and partitive nouns. For example, Шаблон:Lang means "could you", in the polite plural, and is used much like English "Could you..." sentences: Шаблон:Lang "could you help me, please?"
Also, familiar (and not necessarily so polite) expressions can be added to imperatives, e.g. Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang. These are hard to translate exactly, but extensively used by Finnish speakers themselves. Шаблон:Lang implies expectation, that is, it has been settled already and requires no discussion; Шаблон:Lang has the Шаблон:Lang which indicates insistence, and Шаблон:Lang means approximated "indeed".
Passive imperatives
Passive imperatives Finnish English Шаблон:Lang let (something) be done Шаблон:Lang let (something) not be done Шаблон:Lang let (something) have been done Шаблон:Lang let (something) not have been done
3rd-person imperatives
The 3rd-person imperatives behave as if they were jussive; besides being used for commands, they can also be used to express permission. In colloquial language, they are most often used to express disregard to what one might or might not do, and the singular and plural forms are often confused.
3rd-person imperatives Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'let it (him, her) be' Шаблон:Lang 'let them do' Шаблон:Lang 'let him not forget', 'he'd better not forget' Шаблон:Lang 'let them not forget'
1st-person-plural imperatives
1st-person-plural imperatives Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'let's go' Шаблон:Lang 'let us not do', 'we better not do'
The 1st-person imperative sounds archaic, and a form resembling the passive indicative is often used instead: Шаблон:Lang = 'let's go!'
Optative
The optative mood is an archaic or poetic variant of the imperative mood that expresses hopes or wishes. It is not used in normal language.
Optative Finnish English Шаблон:Lang if only/that/would you were
Potential
The potential mood is used to express that the action or state expressed by the verb is possible but not certain. It is relatively rare in modern Finnish, especially in speech. Most commonly it is used in news reports and in official written proposals in meetings. It has only the present tense and perfect. The potential has no specific counterpart in English, but can be translated by adding "possibly" (or occasionally "probably") to the verb.
The characteristic morphology of the Finnish potential is Шаблон:Lang, inserted between the verb stem and the personal ending. Before this affix, continuants assimilate progressively (Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang) and stops regressively (Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang). The verb Шаблон:Lang 'to be' in the potential has the special suppletive form Шаблон:Lang, e.g. the potential of Шаблон:Lang 'has been fetched' is Шаблон:Lang 'may have been fetched'.
Potential forms exists for both active and passive voices, and for present tense and perfect:
Potential Finnish English Шаблон:Lang I may be/it's possible that I am Шаблон:Lang she may wash/she is [likely] to wash Шаблон:Lang she may fix/she is [likely] to fix Шаблон:Lang it is possible that they are mourning/will mourn Шаблон:Lang it will probably be washed (by someone) Шаблон:Lang you may have seen Шаблон:Lang possibly may not have been given (by someone)
In some dialects Шаблон:Lang ('may come') is an indicative form verb (Шаблон:Lang 'comes'). This is not a potential form, but rather due to secondary gemination.
Eventive
No longer used in modern Finnish, the eventive mood is used in the Kalevala. It is a combination of the potential and the conditional. It is also used in some dialects of Estonian.
Eventive Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'I probably would walk'
Infinitives
Finnish verbs are described as having four, sometimes five infinitives:
First infinitive
The first infinitive short form of a verb is the citation form found in dictionaries. It is not unmarked; its overt marking is always the suffix Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang, though sometimes there are modifications (which may be regarded as stem or ending modifications depending on personal preference).
Verb stem Finnish infinitive English infinitive Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to say Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to know Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to read
When the stem is itself a single syllable or is of two or more syllables ending in Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang, the suffix is Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang, respectively. (This represents the historically older form of the suffix, from which the Шаблон:Lang has been lost in most environments.)
Verb stem Finnish infinitive English infinitive Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to bring Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to stay Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to vacuum Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to hesitate
If the stem ends in one the consonants Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, then the final consonant is doubled before adding the infinitive Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang. In the case of a stem ending in the consonant Шаблон:Lang, the infinitive ending gains the consonant Шаблон:Lang, becoming Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang. (These consonant stems take a linking vowel Шаблон:Lang when forming the present tense, or Шаблон:Lang when forming the imperfect, e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'to wash': Шаблон:Lang 'I wash' : Шаблон:Lang 'I washed'). Stems ending in Шаблон:Lang, followed by a link vowel in the present or imperfect, drop the Шаблон:Lang from the stem before adding the infinitive marker Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang.
Verb stem Finnish infinitive English infinitive Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to go Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to be Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to bite Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to wash Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang to mention
Some verbs have so called "alternating stems" or multiple stems with weak-strong consonant gradation between them. It depends on the verb if the infinitive is in the strong or weak form. These have long vowel stems in the present/future tense, which already ends with Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang. These verbs drop the Шаблон:Lang which is present in the present tense stem and replace it with Шаблон:Lang in the first infinitive stem followed by the standard Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang first infinitive marker. The Шаблон:Lang dropping to Шаблон:Lang weakens a preceding Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang so that a weak grade is seen in the first infinitive form. This often creates difficulties for the non-Finn when trying to determine the infinitive (in order to access the translation in a dictionary) when encountering an inflected form. Inflected forms are generally strong except when the stem ending contains a double consonant and there is only a single vowel separating this from the last stem Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang.
Inflected Finnish English Finnish infinitive English infinitive Note Шаблон:Lang I am falling Шаблон:Lang to fall down Шаблон:Lang strong grade Шаблон:Lang I fell down Шаблон:Lang to fall down Шаблон:Lang strong grade Шаблон:Lang I have fallen down Шаблон:Lang to fall down Шаблон:Lang weak grade (Шаблон:Lang forces weak grade) Шаблон:Lang they'll assemble Шаблон:Lang to assemble Шаблон:Lang strong grade Шаблон:Lang we'll assemble Шаблон:Lang to assemble Шаблон:Lang strong grade (Шаблон:Lang does not cause weakness because Шаблон:Lang is not a diphthong)
Some verbs lose elements of their stems when forming the first infinitive. Some verbs stem have contracted endings in the first infinitive. Stems ending Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang in the present/imperfect drop the Шаблон:Lang and replace it with Шаблон:Lang, and where applicable, trigger the weak grade in the infinitive stem. The contracted infinitive ending Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang have Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang verbs take the infinitive stem Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang. These contracted verbs may also be subject to consonant weakening when forming the infinitive
e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'to mention' has the longer conjugated stem Шаблон:Lang as in Шаблон:Lang 'I'll mention tomorrow that...'
e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'to flee' has the longer conjugated stem Шаблон:Lang as in Шаблон:Lang 'we fled from Afghanistan'
The first infinitive long form is the translative plus a possessive suffix (rare in spoken language).
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang '...(s/he) phoned in order to say...' Шаблон:Lang (idiomatic) 'as far as we know' Шаблон:Lang 'in order for me to be able to read'
The first infinitive only has an active form.
Second infinitive
The second infinitive is used to express aspects of actions relating to the time when an action takes place or the manner in which an action happens. In equivalent English phrases these time aspects can often be expressed using "when", "while" or "whilst" and the manner aspects using the word "by" or else the gerund, which is formed by adding "-ing" to English verb to express manner.
It is recognizable by the letter Шаблон:Lang in place of the usual Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang as the infinitive marker. It is only ever used with one of two case makers; the inessive Шаблон:Lang indicating time or the instructive Шаблон:Lang indicating manner. Finnish phrases using the second infinitive can often be rendered in English using the gerund.
The second infinitive is formed by replacing the final Шаблон:Lang of the first infinitive with Шаблон:Lang then adding the appropriate inflectional ending. If the vowel before the Шаблон:Lang is already an Шаблон:Lang, this becomes Шаблон:Lang (see example from Шаблон:Lang 'to read').
The cases in which the second infinitive can appear are:
Second infinitive Finnish English Active inessive (while someone is in the act of) Шаблон:Lang 'when doing' Шаблон:Lang 'when saying' Active inessive + possessive suffix (while themselves in the act of) Шаблон:Lang 'while he is/was reading' Шаблон:Lang 'while you are/were saying' Passive inessive (when or while in the act of something being done) Шаблон:Lang 'when saying' Шаблон:Lang 'when doing' Шаблон:Lang 'when reading' Active instructive (by means of/while in the act of) Шаблон:Lang 'by doing' Шаблон:Lang 'by saying' Шаблон:Lang 'by reading' Шаблон:Lang 'she came into the room crying'
The inessive form is mostly seen in written forms of language because spoken forms usually express the same idea in longer form using two clauses linked by the word Шаблон:Lang ("when"). The instructive is even rarer and mostly exists nowadays in set phrases (for example Шаблон:Lang = 'in other words').
If the person performing the action of the verb is the same as the person in the equivalent relative clause, then the verb uses the appropriate personal possessive suffix on the verb for the person. If the person in the main clause is different from that in the relative clause then this is indicated by with the person in the genitive and the verb is unmarked for person.
Second infinitive inessive Equivalent Шаблон:Lang phrase English translation Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang when I was in England, I went into many pubs Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang when they were in England, they went into many pubs Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang when Jaakko was in England, Laura went to Spain
Third infinitive
This corresponds to the English gerund ("verb + -ing" form), and behaves as a noun in Finnish in that it can be inflected, but only in a limited number of cases. It is used to refer to a particular act or occasion of the verb's action.
The third infinitive is formed by taking the verb stem with its consonant in the strong form, then adding Шаблон:Lang followed by the case inflection.
The cases in which the third infinitive can appear are:
Case Finnish English inessive Шаблон:Lang '(in the act of) reading' Example: Шаблон:Lang 's/he's reading in the library' elative Шаблон:Lang '(from just having been) reading' illative Шаблон:Lang '(about to be / with the intention of) reading' adessive Шаблон:Lang '(by) reading' abessive Шаблон:Lang '(without) reading'
A rare and archaic form of the third infinitive which occurs with the verb Шаблон:Lang:
Case Finnish English instructive Шаблон:Lang 'you must not read'
The third infinitive instructive is usually replaced with the first infinitive short form in modern Finnish.
Note that the Шаблон:Lang form without a case ending is called the 'agent participle' (see #Participles below). The agent participle can also be inflected in all cases, producing forms which look similar to the third infinitive.
Fourth infinitive
The fourth infinitive has the stem ending Шаблон:Lang and indicates obligation, but it is quite rare in Finnish today. This is because there are other words like Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang that can convey this meaning.
For example
Fourth Infinitive Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'There is no going there' i.e. 'One must not go there'
Though not an infinitive, a much more common Шаблон:Lang verbal stem ending is the noun construct which gives the name of the activity described by the verb. This is rather similar to the English verbal noun '-ing' form, and therefore as a noun, this form can inflect just like any other noun.
Шаблон:Lang noun formation Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'reading is fun' Шаблон:Lang 'I hate reading' Шаблон:Lang 'I enjoy reading'
Fifth infinitive
This is a fairly rare form which has the meaning 'on the point of ...ing / just about to ...'
Fifth infinitive Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'I was just about to read'
Verb conjugation
For full details of how verbs are conjugated in Finnish, please refer to the Finnish verb conjugation article.
Participles
Finnish verbs have past and present participles, both with passive and active forms, and an 'agent' participle. Participles can be used in different ways than ordinary adjectives and they can have an object.
Past passive participle
This is formed in the same way as the passive perfect or passive past-perfect forms, by taking the passive past form, removing the Шаблон:Lang ending and replacing it with Шаблон:Lang (depending on vowel harmony)
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'after you went home'
[[[:Шаблон:Abbr]] II participle Шаблон:Abbr Шаблон:Abbr + Шаблон:Abbr suffix]
Past active participle
Basically this is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding Шаблон:Lang (depending on vowel harmony) and in some cases Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang. For example:
1st infinitive active past participle Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang
However, depending on the verb's stem type, assimilation can occur with the consonant of the stem ending.
In type II verbs, and Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang in the stem ending is assimilated to the consonant in the participle ending (as also happens in formation of the first infinitive, although Шаблон:Lang stem endings take an extra Шаблон:Lang in the first infinitive)
1st Infinitive Stem Active past participle Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang
The assimilation causes the final consonant cluster to be strengthened which in turn can weaken a strong cluster if one exists in the stem. See Шаблон:Lang above.
In verbs of types IV, V and VI, the Шаблон:Lang at the end of the stem is assimilated to the Шаблон:Lang:
1st infinitive Stem Active past participle Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Lang
Present passive participle
The present passive participle can be constructed from the past passive form of the verb. The Шаблон:Lang ending of the past passive is replaced with Шаблон:Lang, which can be inflected in the same way as the present active participle. For example:
Infinitive Past passive Passive participle English Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang which is to be given Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang which is to be eaten Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang which is to be told
It is possible to translate this participle in several related ways e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'which must be/is to be said', 'which can be said', 'which will be said' or 'which is said'. Here are some sentences and phrases further illustrating the formation and use of the present passive participle:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang Drinkable water Шаблон:Lang Do you have anything to say? Шаблон:Lang Is there anything to eat on the table? Or even, Is there anything edible on the table?
This participle can also be used in other ways. If used with the appropriate third-person singular form of the verb Шаблон:Lang and with the subject in the genitive it can express necessity or obligation.
- Шаблон:Lang 'I must leave'
- Шаблон:Lang 'They would have to go'
Inflected in the inessive plural, it can be used in conjunction with the verb 'to be' to indicate that something can or cannot be done.
- Шаблон:Lang 'Is Pekka available?'/'Is Pekka able to be met with?'
Present active participle
This participle is formed simply by finding the 3rd person plural form of the verb and removing -t, and acts as an adjective describing what the object or subject of the sentence is doing, for example:
Present active participle Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'sleeping dog' Шаблон:Lang 'blinding light' Шаблон:Lang 'I pretended to be reading'
[[[:Шаблон:Abbr]] I participle Шаблон:Abbr essive + Шаблон:Abbr suffix]
Agent participle
The agent participle is formed in a similar way as the third infinitive (see above), adding -ma or -mä to the verb stem. It allows the property of being a target of an action to be formatted as an adjective-like attribute. Like adjectives, it can be inflected in all cases. For example, Шаблон:Lang "a man-made formation". The party performing the action is indicated by the use of genitive, or by a possessive suffix. This is reflected in English, too: Шаблон:Lang – "of man's making", or Шаблон:Lang "book of my writing". For example:
Agent participle Finnish English Шаблон:Lang the book read by the girl Шаблон:Lang (partitive) the book read by the girl Шаблон:Lang in the book read by the girl etc.
It is not required for the action to be in the past, although the examples above are. Rather, the construction simply specifies the subject, the object and the action, with no reference to time. For an example in the future, consider: Шаблон:Lang "tomorrow, as the instrument you will be using is...". Here, Шаблон:Lang "that which is used" describes, i.e. is an attribute to Шаблон:Lang "instrument". (Notice the case agreement between Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang.) The suffix Шаблон:Lang "your" specifies the person "owning" the action, i.e. who does it, thus Шаблон:Lang is "that which was used by you(Шаблон:Abbr)", and Шаблон:Lang is "as that which was used by you".
It is also possible to give the actor with a pronoun, e.g. Шаблон:Lang "that which was used by you". In standard language, the pronoun Шаблон:Lang "your" is not necessary, but the possessive suffix is. In inexact spoken usage, this goes vice versa; the possessive suffix is optional, and used typically only for the second-person singular, e.g. Шаблон:Lang.
Negation of verbs
Present indicative
Verbs are negated by using a negative verb in front of the stem from the present tense (in its 'weak' consonant form). This verb form used with the negative verb is called a connegative.
Present indicative Finnish English Finnish English Singular Шаблон:Lang 'I know' → Шаблон:Lang 'I don't know' Шаблон:Lang 'you know' → Шаблон:Lang 'you don't know' Шаблон:Lang '(s)he knows' → Шаблон:Lang '(s)he doesn't know' Plural Шаблон:Lang 'we know' → Шаблон:Lang 'we don't know' Шаблон:Lang 'you know' → Шаблон:Lang 'you don't know' Шаблон:Lang 'they know' → Шаблон:Lang 'they don't know'
Note that the inflection is on the negative verb, not on the main verb, and that the endings are regular apart from the 3rd-person forms.
Present passive
The negative is formed from the third-person singular "negative verb" Шаблон:Lang and the present passive with the final Шаблон:Lang removed:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'it is not spoken' Шаблон:Lang 'it is not known'
Imperfect indicative
The negative is formed from the appropriate part of the negative verb followed by the nominative form (either singular or plural depending on the number of the verb's subject) of the active past participle. So for Шаблон:Lang the pattern is:
Imperfect indicative Finnish English Singular Шаблон:Lang 'I did not speak' Шаблон:Lang 'you did not speak' Шаблон:Lang '(s/he) did not speak' Plural Шаблон:Lang 'we did not speak' Шаблон:Lang 'you did not speak' Шаблон:Lang 'they did not speak'
Note one exception: when the 'te' 2nd-person plural form is used in an honorific way to address one person, the singular form of the participle is used: Шаблон:Lang = 'you (Шаблон:Abbr polite) did not speak'.
Imperfect passive
The negative is formed from the third-person singular negative verb – 'ei' – and the nominative singular form of the passive present participle (compare this with the negative of the imperfect indicative):
Imperfect passive Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'it was not spoken' Шаблон:Lang 'it was not known'
Note that in the spoken language, this form is used for the first-person plural. In this case, the personal pronoun is obligatory:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'we did not go'
Adverbs
A very common way of forming adverbs is by adding the ending Шаблон:Lang to the inflecting form of the corresponding adjective:
Adverbs Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'quick, quickly' Шаблон:Lang 'beautiful, beautifully' Шаблон:Lang 'slow, slowly' Шаблон:Lang 'easy, easily'
Adverbs modify verbs, not nouns, therefore they do not inflect. Шаблон:Lang adverbs are not used to modify adjectives (such as to express degree) like Шаблон:Lang adverbs might be in English; the genitive of adjectives is used for this purpose.
Comparative formation
The comparative form of the adverb has the ending Шаблон:Lang.
Comparative formation Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'quick, quickly, more quickly/faster' Шаблон:Lang 'beautiful, beautifully, more beautifully' Шаблон:Lang 'slow, slowly, more slowly' Шаблон:Lang 'easy, easily, more easily'
Superlative formation
The superlative form of the adverb has the ending Шаблон:Lang.
Superlative formation Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'easy, easily, more easily, most easily'
Because of the Шаблон:Lang, the stem vowel can change, similarly to superlative adjectives, or to avoid runs of three vowels:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'quick, quickly, more quickly/faster, fastest' Шаблон:Lang 'beautiful, beautifully, more beautifully, most beautifully' Шаблон:Lang 'slow, slowly, more slowly, most slowly'
Irregular forms
There are a number of irregular adverbs, including:
Irregular forms Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'good, well, better, best'
Numbers
The ordinary counting numbers (cardinals) from 0 to 10 are given in the table below. Cardinal numbers may be inflected and some of the inflected forms are irregular in form.
(*) sometimes Шаблон:Lang (alternative form)
In colloquial spoken Finnish, the numerals usually appear in contracted forms.
To form teens, Шаблон:Lang is added to the base number. Шаблон:Lang is the partitive form of Шаблон:Lang, meaning here "second group of ten". Hyphens are written here to separate morphemes. In Finnish text, hyphens are not written.
- "one of the second, two of the second, ... nine of the second"
- 11, 12, ... 19
In older Finnish, until about the early 20th Century, the same pattern was used up to one hundred: Шаблон:Lang 'thirty-three'.
Sentence structure
Word order
Since Finnish is an inflected language, word order within sentences can be much freer than, for example, English. In English the strong subject–verb–object order typically indicates the function of a noun as either subject or object although some English structures allow this to be reversed. In Finnish sentences, however, the role of the noun is determined not by word order or sentence structure as in English but by case markings which indicate subject and object.
The most usual neutral order, however, is subject–verb–object. But usually what the speaker or writer is talking about is at the head of the sentence.
Finnish English Note Шаблон:Lang 'the dog bit the man' we are talking of the dog and what it did Шаблон:Lang 'the man was bitten by a/the dog' we are talking about the man and what it was that bit him, e.g. not a snake Шаблон:Lang 'it was a dog that bit the man' we are confirming that it was a/the dog that bit the man, not some other animal
Here Шаблон:Lang ('dog') is in the nominative form but Шаблон:Lang ('man') is marked as object by the case marked form Шаблон:Lang. This sentence is a bald statement of fact. Changing the word order changes the emphasis slightly but not the fundamental meaning of the sentence.
Finnish English Note Шаблон:Lang 'I have money' a bald statement of fact Шаблон:Lang 'money is something I do have' although I may not have something else Шаблон:Lang 'The money is with me' I am telling you where the money is Шаблон:Lang 'I've definitely got (the) money' I am confirming that I do have (the) money Шаблон:Lang 'Yes, I do have (the) money' if having money has been questioned
Шаблон:Lang here is the word Шаблон:Lang (I) in a case form ending Шаблон:Lang which when used with the verb Шаблон:Lang (to be, expressed here in the form Шаблон:Lang) expresses ownership. This is because Finnish does not have a verb form equivalent of the English word 'have'. Шаблон:Lang is not considered the subject.
And finally, a classic example:
Finnish Translation Шаблон:Lang 'I am the state' (matter-of-fact) Шаблон:Lang 'Шаблон:Lang' (French – attributed to Louis XIV)
Besides the word-order implications of turning a sentence into a question, there are some other circumstances where word-order is important:
Existential sentences
These are sentences which introduce a new subject – they often begin with 'there is' or 'there are' in English.
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'there is a bed in the room'
The location of the thing whose existence is being stated comes first, followed by its stative verb, followed by the thing itself. Note how this is unlike the normal English equivalent, though English can also use the same order:
Finnish English Шаблон:Lang '(in/out) there stood a man'
Forming questions
There are two main ways of forming a question – either using a specific question word, or by adding a Шаблон:Lang suffix to one of the words in a sentence. A question word is placed first in the sentence, and a word with the interrogative suffix is also moved to this position:
Interrogatives (questions) Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'what is this?' Шаблон:Lang 'this is a book' Шаблон:Lang 'is this a book?' Шаблон:Lang 'is this a book?' Шаблон:Lang 'is this a book?' Шаблон:Lang 'is this not a book?'
(note the Шаблон:Lang goes on the negative verb)
Forming answers
The response to a question will of course depend on the situation, but grammatically the response to a question typically follows the grammatical structure in the question. Thus a question structured in the inessive case (e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'in which town do you live?') will have an answer that is also in the inessive (e.g. Шаблон:Lang 'in Espoo') unless special rules dictate otherwise. Questions which in English would be answered with 'yes' or 'no' replies are usually responded to by repeating the verb in either the affirmative or negative.
Interrogatives (questions) Finnish English Шаблон:Lang 'which way are they headed?' Шаблон:Lang 'towards Helsinki' Шаблон:Lang 'have you got the key?' Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang 'yes'/'no' (Шаблон:Abbr 'is'/'is not' in possession) Шаблон:Lang 'are you guys going to the movies?' Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang 'yes'/'no' (Шаблон:Abbr 'we are going'/'we are not going') Шаблон:Lang 'Are you intending to go off without a hat?' Шаблон:Lang 'Yes' (Шаблон:Abbr 'I intend')
The words Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang are often shown in dictionaries as being equivalent to 'yes' and 'no', but the situation is a little more complicated than that. The typical response to a question which in English is answered 'yes' or 'no' is, as we see above, more usually answered by repeating the verb in either an affirmative or negative form in the appropriate person. The word 'kyllä' is rather a strong affirmation in response to a question and is similar to the word 'niin' which is an affirmation of a response to a statement of fact or belief. (However, in conversations, Шаблон:Lang may even simply mean that the sentence was heard, not expressing any sort of concurrence. The same problem occurs with the colloquial Шаблон:Lang "yeah".)
Kyllä and Niin Finnish English Шаблон:Lang (question) 'Are you intending to go off without a hat?' Шаблон:Lang 'Yes, I sure am' (Strong affirmation. I really do intend to go bareheaded) Шаблон:Lang (statement) 'it is foolish to go out in wintertime without a hat' Шаблон:Lang 'Yes indeed' (I agree with your statement)
The word Шаблон:Lang is the negative verb form and has to be inflected for person and the verb itself is usually present, though not always.
- Шаблон:Lang 'can you (speak) German?'
- Шаблон:Lang ('no'; Шаблон:Abbr 'I don't')
or better
- Шаблон:Lang ('I can't')
See also
References
Further reading
