Other examples: rootrohkene,to dare.
Rootalene,to sink.
Rootsyökse,to cast.
Rootsäkenöitse,to glitter.
Rootnäke,to see.
Under this name are comprised a great number of verbal forms, formed by adding certain suffixes to the simple transitive root, many of which are not used in ordinary written and spoken Finnish.
A. Reflexive verbs are formed by adding to the root the suffixesutu,yty, oruntu,ynty. For instance,anta,to give, makesantautuaorantauntua;teke,to do,tekeytyäortekeyntyä. Theuorymay be assimilated to the last vowel of the root, which gives us forms likeantaantua,tekeentyä. These verbs are conjugated quite regularly.
B. This suffix is also found in the shorter formu,y.Antaa,antauta;löytää,to find,löytyä,to be found;muuttaa,to change(act),muuttua,to change oneself.
These verbs generally present some peculiarities in their conjugation.
(1) They usually have the old endingpiin the 3d sing. indicative present;antauupi, butantauis also found.
(2) The imperfect ends insi;antausin,antausit,antausi, etc. Thissis the remains of an originalt, showing that the terminationuis only short forutu.
(3) The sametis preserved in the infinitive and passive—antauta,antautaan.
C. In the Kalevala and the Karelian dialect are found a great quantity of more or less irregular reflexive forms, which are often explained by supposing that the reflexive pronounitseis added to the verb, and then weakened in various ways toihe,ite,ik,k, etc. But this explanation is very doubtful.
For example. Frommuuttaa,to change, comes the formmuuttain,I change myself.
The terminationkseorihefor the third person sing. is characteristic of these verbs. We also find the terminationmefor the first person sing.,tefor the second, andseorsetfor the third.
The concessive ismuuttainnen, and the conditional ismuuttaisisin, etc. The imperative and optativemuuttaitkaan,muuttaitkoon[13].
Verbs are either primitive, that is to say, they consist of a simple root, to which are added the various modal and personal terminations, or they are derivative, that is to say, besides these terminations some formative syllable is added to the root, such asta,ele,aise. It is not easy to assign a precise meaning to all of these terminations, particularly to the commoner, which are used in many and not very definite senses.
Simple roots are either transitive or intransitive in their meaning.
Derivative transitive verbs are formed with the following suffixes, which, however, are sometimes also found in verbs of neuter signification.
(1)ta,tä, which must not be confounded with thetaof the first infinitive, is added to verbal roots ending ine, which is rejected.
päästää,to let go, butpäästä, intransitive. (N.B. The first verb is forpäästätä, the second forpääsetä, so that thetof the latter belongs to the termination of the infinitive, but thetof the latter to the stem).Paksuntaa,to thicken, butpaksuta,to grow thick;peljättää,to frighten, butpeljätä,to fear;viertää,to roll down, transitive or intransitive, butvierräonly intransitive.
(2)tta,ttä, is added chiefly to roots ending inuorywhich are not rejected.Juottaa,to give to drink(juoda,to drink);käyttää,to use(fromkäydä);menettää,to cause to go or lose(mennä,to go);näyttää,to show(nähdä,to see);tuottaa,to cause to bring, to get(tuoda,to bring);kuolettaa,to kill(kuolla,to die).
(3)utta,yttä, is added mostly to polysyllabic roots:kävelyttää,to make walk;epäilyttää,to make doubt;huomauttaa,to make observed;liikuttaa,to move, trans. (liikkua, intrans.).
Reflexive neuter verbs (videp.109) are formed with the following suffixes:—
(1)uory, added chiefly to dissyllabic roots ending inaande, which are rejected, and to polysyllables intaandoitse:—löytyä,to be found, to exist(löytää,to find);tuntua,to be felt(tuntea,to feel);muuttua,to change, intransitive (muuttaa,to change, trans.);täytyä,to be sufficientornecessary(täyttää, transitive);rakastua,to be in love with(rakastaa,to love, transitive);kuulua,to be heard(kuulla,to hear).
(2)untu,ynty, shortened intoutu,yty:—antauntua,antautua, orantauta,to give oneself up(antaa,to give);jakauntua,jakaantua,jakautua, orjakauta,to be divided(jakaa,to divide);kääriytyä,to be involved(kääriä);vetäytyä,to retire(vetää).
There is also a suffixpu,py, used to form a few words of intransitive signification:—joupua,to get drunk(juoda,to drink);syöpyä,to eat one’s fill(syödä,to eat);jääpyä,to remain behind(jäädä,to remain);saapua,to arrive(fromsaada, cf. ‘se rendre’).Luopua,vaipua, andviipyäseem to be formed with the same suffix.
Frequentative verbs are formed with the suffixesele,ksi, andnta, either separately or combined. It is often hard to determine the exact force of these suffixes. Sometimes they signify a repeated or prolonged action, sometimes they form a kind of verbal diminutive, expressing an action slightly or gently performed, sometimes there is no real difference between the meanings of the original and derived verbs.
(1)eleis added mostly to dissyllabic roots ending ina, which is lost before the suffix. The first infinitive ends inella, and the verb is conjugated after the third conjugation, e.g.kysellä,to ask often(Russianспрашивать), fromkysyä,to ask(Russianспросить);katsella,to observe, or regard, fromkatsoa,to look;ellellä,to live, fromelää;hypellä,to jump(попрыгивать), fromhypätä(прыгать).
(2)ksiis added to the dissyllabic roots, especially to those ending ine.aandäbecomeebefore this suffix.kuljeksia,to wander, fromkulkea,to go;eleksiä,to live, fromelää;anneksia, fromantaa,to give.
The terminationntais rarely found alone, butksenta,ksentele, andnteleoccur, andkseleis a frequentative form.Käyskellä,to wander, fromkäydä,to go;saneskella(поговорить) fromsanoa,kuljeskella, fromkulkea.
Instantaneous or semelfactive verbs. These, when they have their strict significance, denote an action done once or suddenly, and correspond to Russian forms in-нуть. The terminations which have this sense are—
(1)ahta, added to dissyllabic verbs which lose their last vowel.Kilijahtaa,to give a cry(воскликнуть);liikahtaa(liikkua),to make a movement(двинуться);elähtää,to come to life(but alsoto live,to grow old).
(2)aise, added to dissyllables ine,i,o, andu, which fall out before the termination.kiljaista,to give a cry;puraista,to give a bite(purra,to bite);halkaista,to split.
Verbal suffixes are also added to nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, the verbs so formed having various meanings which can be easily illustrated from English, where verbs are often formed from substantives or adjectives with or without a suffix being added. In Finnish such derived verbs have been divided into a variety of categories; such as—(1) Instructive, which imply the provision of something with the object denoted by the noun, cf. the Englishto butter,to arm. (2) Factive, denoting the conversion of something into the object or quality denoted by the original word, cf. Englishto blacken. (3) Operative, implying the use or action of the substantive, cf. Englishtodrop,to boat. (4) Essive, denoting the existence or activity of something in the capacity of the noun, cf. Englishto idle.
These classes of verbs are not denoted by special suffixes, but the syllablesta,i,itse,tta,staare added to form verbs which may have any of these significations.
Tais added to monosyllables and roots which are susceptible of being closed, likewise to trisyllables ending inra,la,na. Many of the verbs formed with this affix end insta; but thesbelongs to the root, not to the suffix. Examples—perustaa,to found(perus,a foundation),vaatettaa,to clothe(vaate-);veistää,to cut(veitse,a knife);poistaa,to drive away(pois);yltää,to reach(yli);kumartaa,to bow(kumara);kiirehtää,to hurry(kiire);sairastaa,to be ill(sairas).
This termination sometimes becomesa, thetbeing lost, e.g.harjata,to comb;kullata,to gild. Here thetais of course the termination of the infinitive.
Roots ending ineʻwith the aspiration generally suffixtiand notta, though sometimes both forms are found. The aspiration becomeshbefore thet,vaatehtia,to clothe;kiirehtiä,to hurry;tervehtiä,to salute, etc.
The terminationiis added to dissyllables ending inä,e,i, and also to such dissyllables ending inaas haveooruas their first vowel, whereas dissyllables inawitha,e, orifor their first vowel, suffixo. This rule is analogous to no.7, and is prompted by a desire to avoid the repetition of the same in succeeding syllables. In all cases the final vowel of the stem is elided before the termination. Examples—kukkia,to flower(kukka);sotia,to fight(sota);munia,to lay eggs(muna);huolia,to care(huoli); butsanoa,to speak(sana);neuloa,to sew(neula);leipoa,to bake(leipä).
The terminationitseis added chiefly to trisyllabic roots, but also to dissyllables. In trisyllabic words the finalaandäof stems always becomeoandöbeforei; in dissyllables thefinal vowel sometimes undergoes this change and is sometimes rejected. The verbs so formed are conjugated according to conjugation III, so that the infinitive ends inoitaforoitse. This termination is closely related to the terminationi, so much so that almost all the words formed with it have double forms. For example, fromsatula,a saddle, is formed either the verbal stemsatuloi; infinitivesatuloida; presentsatuloin; or the stemsatuloitse; infinitivesatuloita; presentsatuloitsen.
Examples of verbs:iloita,to be glad(ilo);hedelmöitä,to give fruit(hedelmä);askaroita,to work(askere);jumaloita(jumala),to deify;palmikoita,to twine(palmikko).
tta,itta. These terminations are added to monosyllables, to dissyllables ending ini,o(ö), andu(y), and trisyllables ina(ä) (which always changes too) ande. Dissyllabic and polysyllabic words prefer the termination withouti. This suffix is the same as that used to form transitive verbs from intransitive, and a large proportion of the verbs which are derived from nouns by its addition are factitive.Päättää,to finish(päättyä,to end, intransitive);jäättää,to freeze;kirjoittaa,to write;lahjoittaa,to make a present;hyvittää,to use well;syyttää,to accuse;kunnioittaa,to honour.
staoristais added generally to dissyllabic stems, whose final vowel is lost beforei, thoughasometimes becomeso.Metsästää,to hunt;kärjestää,to sharpen;kalastaa,to fish;ylistää,to extol;yhdistää,to unite;äänestää,to express an opinion,to vote.
Another class of verbs are called translative, and express a change to the state denoted by the noun from which the verb is formed.
Such are formed with the following terminations:—
(1)neis added chiefly to dissyllables, also to trisyllables inea(eä), whose finala(ä), and sometimeso, changes toe. The verb so formed is conjugated according to the third conjugation,and the syllablenealtogether disappears in the infinitive, which ends ineta.Aleta(presentalenen)to sink down;musteta,to become black;lähetä,to draw near;pimetä,to grow dark.
(2)aoräis added mostly to dissyllabic roots ending ini, which changes toe; if added to roots ending ina, this vowel generally becomeso. It is also added to trisyllables inea(eä).Soeta,to become blind(sokea).
A small number of verbs are formed from adjectives by the addition of the suffixksiorksu, before whichaandäare often changed toe. These verbs, sometimes calledcensitive, express the light in which something is regarded.Halveksia,to hold cheap(halpa);hyveksiäorhyväksyä,to find good,to approve;pahaksuaorpaheksia,to find bad,to be angry at;väheksiäorvähäksyä,to find small or despise.
The place of prepositions in other languages is supplied by postpositions, that is to say, by words which follow a substantive (mostly in the genitive or partitive case). These words are not, however, really analogous to the indeclinable prepositions of other languages; they are cases of substantives, some of which are found used in the nominative case. For instance,ali(not used as a substantive) means a place under something else. From this are formed the casesalla,alle,alta, etc., which are used as prepositions, e.g.kissa on pöydän alla,the cat is in the place under the table, that is,under the table;kissa meni pöydän alle,the cat went to the place under the table, that is,under the table;kissa tuli pöydän alta,the cat came from the place under the table, orfrom under the table. A list of these substantives, which are mostly fragmentary in their declensions, is given in the Syntax. A few of them precede the substantive which they govern and can hence becalled prepositions. Such words mostly require that the substantive which they govern should be in the partitive, whereas postpositions follow a word in the genitive.
In these words we may distinguish two classes:—
A. Those which are used as postpositions only in one case, and which have become more or less petrified. Such areennen,before;ilman,without;kanssa,with;varten,for.
B. Those which are used in several cases. Some of these are ordinary substantives used in the nominative and other cases. The postpositional usage of such words corresponds to such English phrases as ‘in the middle of.’ Such arejoukko,a crowd; (joukossa,joukkoon);jälki,a footstep(jälessä,jälestä,jälkeen);kohta,a place(kohdalla,kohdalta,kohdalle,kohtaan);puoli,a half(puolessa,puolesta,puolella,puolelta,puoleen);pää,a head(päässä,päästä,päähän,päällä,päälle,päältä).
Others, though clearly substantives in their form, are not used except as particles:—yli,ylitse,yllä,ylle,yltä;ympäri,ympärillä,ympäriltä,ympärille;alla,alta,alle;edessä,edestä,eteen,edellä,edeltä,edelle;luota,luona,luo;ohessa,ohesta,oheen,ohitse;myötä,myöten, and others.
There are two classes of adverbs in Finnish: (1) Independent adverbs, (2) Adverbial suffixes.
The independent adverbs are often cases of nouns which differ from postpositions only in this, that they are used absolutely, and not in connection with another word. Thus inkäydä kaupungin ympäri,to go round the town,ympärimay be described as a postposition, while inkäydä ympäri, where it stands alone and absolute, it is an adverb. Similarly inkulkeapuutarhan ohitse,to pass by the garden,ohitseis a postposition, but inpian se menee ohitse,it will soon be over, it is an adverb.
These independent adverbs are formed in different ways:—
A. Some are primitive words, whose grammatical formation is not clear, e.g.nyt,now;heti,soon;aina,always;vielä,yet;koska,when.
B. A second class is formed by the addition of certain suffixes.
(1) Adverbs are formed from adjectives by the addition ofsti, perhaps related to the suffix of the elative,sta, e.g.hywä,good,hywästi,well;tietty,known;tietysti,certainly.ltiis also found (cf. ablativelta);laajalti,widely, e.g.se on laajalti tunnettu,he is widely known;paksulta,muchorthickly;syvältä,deeply.
(2)tenorti(cf. prolativetse) is added to pronouns.Täten,so;miten,how;siten,so;muuten,otherwise;peräti,entirely.
(3)isin(instructive) is added to nouns.Maisin,by land;takaisin,back.
(4)nneis added to pronouns, and forms adverbs of direction.Sinne,thither;tänne,hither;minne,whither;jonnekunne,to somewhere or other.
(5)tusten,tuksin,ksuttain,kkain, are used to form adverbs expressing a mutual relation.Rinnatusten,side by side;käsityksin,hand in hand;peräksyttäinorperäkkäin,one behind the other.
(6)oin, or sometimesain(probably fromajoin,aika,time), is added to the adessive case of pronouns to form temporal adverbs.Silloin,then;milloin,when;muinoin,formerly.
C. Various cases of nouns are used as adverbs:—
Nominative—E.g.kohta,soon;kyllä,enough.
Accusativeorgenitive—kauan,long;paljon,much.
Partitive—ulkoa,outside;salaa,secretly.
Inessive—tässä,here;missä,where;yhdessä,together;pystyssä,straight, upright.
Elative—tästä,hence;mistä,whence;ainoastaanorainoastansa,only.
Illative—yhteen,together;tarkkaan,accurately.
Adessive—tuolla,siellä,there;kaikkialla,everywhere.
Ablative—kaikkialta,from all sides;muualta,from another place.
Allative—uudelleen,anew;verkalleen,gradually.
Essive—ulkona,outside;kotona,at home;huomenna,to-morrow;kaukana,far.
Translative, wherekseis generally abbreviated tos,—alas,below;ulos,without;myös,also.
Abessive, wherettabecomesti,—ääneti,silently;huoleti,without care.
Instructive—niin,so;kuin,how;tosin,truly;harvoin,rarely;kaksittain,two at a time.
The second infinitive is also used adverbially in the instructive,nimittäin(foren),that is to say.
Adverbs are also found in the comparative and superlative degree, and are then in the essive, partitive, and translative cases, or adessive, ablative, and allative. The terminationksiof the translative often sinks tos, or merely the aspirate.Likempänä,nearer;likempää,likemmäksi(-mmäsor-mmaʻ),likemmällä,likemmältä, etc.
The adverbial suffixes are added to the end of other words. The principal are—
Ko,kö, which gives an interrogative meaning to the word to which it is affixed, likeлиin Russian.
Han,hän,pa,pä, have a strengthening or affirmative force.
Ki,kin, have a copulative sense,—minäkin,I too.
According to their signification conjunctions may be divided into—
(a)Copulative—ja,ynnä, andsekä,also;sekä ... että,both ... and;ka,kä(enclitic),and.
(b)Disjunctive—eli,tahi,tai,taikka,or;joko ... tai,either ... or.
(c)Adversative—mutta,vaan,but;kuitenkin,toki,however.
(d)Inferential—sentähden,siksi,therefore;siis,niin-muodoin,consequently;niin,so, accordingly.
(e)Causal—sillä,for;kun,koska,because.
(f)Comparative—kuin,than;ikäänkuin,as, if.
(g)Temporal—kun,when;jahka,heti kuin,as soon as;ennenkuin,before that;sittenkuin,after that.
(h)FinalandConsecutive—että,jotta,that.
(i)Conditional—jos,if.
(j)Concessive—vaikka,jos,kohta,even if.
(k)Interrogative—ko,kö(enclitic),tokko,josko,vai,is it ... or(like the Latin ‘utrum’ ... ‘an’).
It will be noticed that these conjunctions are in great part merely cases of pronouns or adjectives, e.g.sentähden,kuin,sillä.Ynnäappears to be a contracted essive fromyksi; andjaandtokito be borrowed words.
1.Of joy—aha,ahaa,hei.
2.Laughter—haha,hihi.
3.Grief—ai,aiai,voi,oi,voivoi.
4.Mockery—ähä,kutti,piti,piti-piti.
5.Astonishment—no,noh,ha,kah,kas.
6.Disgust—hyi,hyihyi,ui,uiui.
Finnish sentences are formed of the same elements as those found in other European languages—subjects, predicates, objects, attributes, etc.; but, as the simplest phrases offer certain peculiarities, it is well, before analysing the use of the various forms, to give some general rules.
I. The Subject is in the nominative case if it istotal, that is to say, if something is predicated of the whole of the subject. Thus,ihmiset kuolevat,men die, because the verb applies to the whole race of men;lapset tulevat,the children come, that is to say,all the children in question. Personal pronouns and a substantive in the singular always are in the nominative, when subject to a sentence. In other words, the subject is put in the nominative, (1) when the proposition is universal.Ihmiset kuolevat,men die;linnut lentävät,birds fly. (2) When it is preceded by the definite article or other determinative adjective in English.Sotamiehet läksivät,the soldiers set out;nämät pojat olevat ahkerat,these boys are industrious. (3) When the subject is a single definite substantive or pronoun, which is really the same as the case of an universal proposition.
II. But the subject is put in the partitive case, if something is predicated, not of its whole extent, but of part of it. Thus, one saysviini on hyvää,wine is good;viini on pöydällä,the wine is on the table; butviiniä on pöydällä,there is some wine on the table. Similarly,miehet tulevat,the men are coming; butmiehiä tulee,some men are coming.
It is to be noticed—
(1) That in negative phrases, where the verb isei ole,ei näy,ei kuulu,ei tunnu, etc. (which are generally rendered in English by such phrases as ‘there is no,’ or ‘there is not’), the subject is always in the partitive, e.g.siellä ei ole ketään,there is nobody there;tässä joessa ei ole kaloja,there are no fish in this river.
(2) The partitive can only be the subject to an intransitive verb, because the mere fact of any word being the subject to a transitive verb implies that the whole or a definite part of the subject is regarded as acting. Thus, one can say,varkaita tuli talooni,some thieves came into my house; butsome thieves stole my thingsmust be rendered byvarkaat(orjotkut varkaat)varastivat tavarani.
The subject can be altogether omitted if it is a pronoun of the first or second person, and also in certain impersonal expressions, liketuulee,it is windy. In such sentences ason mahdotonta tehdä sitä,it is impossible to do this, the verbal noun is to be regarded as the subject.
Such sentences asone says, orpeople say, where the subject is indefinite, are expressed in Finnish either by the passive verb (v.p.181), or by the third person plural, no noun or pronoun being employed to represent the subject.Sanovat pääskysten jo tulleen,they say the swallows have already come;Venäjällä hakkaavat paljo metsää,they cut a great deal of wood in Russia.
The third person sing. is also used in this sense:kesällä elää vaikka ilmalla,in summer one can live easily(literally,on air);tekee minkän jaksaa,one does as much work as one can.
The second person sing. is also used in this impersonal sense, much as in Russian.Kävelet kadulla, et näe mitään, mutta yht’äkkiä putoat kuopaan,one walks along the street, sees nothing, and suddenly tumbles into a hole.
The verb of a sentence usually agrees in number with the subject, if the latter is in the nominative. But
(1) If the subject is in the partitive, either sing. or plural, the verb is always in the sing. The real subject of the verb in such cases is not the partitive itself, but such a word asjoukko,paljo, orvähäunderstood before it.
(2) If the subject is a noun with a numeral (which in Finnish requires the partitive after it), the verb is also in the singular.
(3) When the verbollais used with the adessive in the construction rendered by the verb ‘have’ in English, it always remains in the 3rd sing., no matter what the subject may be.
(4) In proverbs, the Kalevala, and popular speech generally, a singular verb is very frequently found with a plur. nominative. Such an irregularity is clearly rendered much easier and less glaring by the analogy of the cases quoted above.
The verbolla,to be, is sometimes omitted, especially in proverbial phrases.
Oma maa mansikka, muu maa mustikka,one’s own land is a strawberry, foreign lands are only blackberries.Ei pyyssä kahden jakoa,a partridge is not enough for two.
If the predicate takes the form of an auxiliary with a noun or adjective, this latter may be put in several cases.
I. In the nominative, when the complement expresses a quality inherent in the subject, without any reference to other things.
II. But it is put in the partitive if the subject is regarded as referred to a class in common with which the subject shares the quality in question.
Thus,veitset ovat terevätmeansthese knives, orthe knives are sharp; butveitset ovat teräviämeansknives are sharp, orbelong to the class of sharp things.Kivi on kova,the stone is hard, i.e. not a soft stone;kivi on kovaa,stone is a hard substance.
It is noticeable that—
(a) If the subject is in the sing., and denotes a living being, the complement must be in the nominative; one must sayihminen on kuolevainen, notkuolevaista.
(b) If the subject denotes a part of the body, the complement must be also in the nominative:Hiukset ovat mustat,the hair is black.Kädet ovat tarpeelliset,hands are necessary.
III. The complement is put in the essive if it denotes the state in which a thing is at a given time. Thus,isäni on kipeänä,my father is (now) ill;isäni on kipeä,my father is an invalid.Hän on pappi,he is a clergyman; buthän on jo kauan ollut pappina,he has long been a clergyman.Suomenmaa on osa Venäjän valtakuntaa,Finland is a part of the Russian empire; buttähän vuosisataan asti Suomenmaa oli osana Ruotsin valtakunnasta,till the beginning of this century Finland formed part of the kingdom of Sweden. Often there is little difference between the nominative and essive. Thus one can say eithersydän on suruja täysi, ortäynnä,the heart is full of woe; buttäynnägives a more precise and literal idea of fullness thantäysi.
IV. With the other auxiliaries, signifying to become, or pass into a state (tulla,ruveta,muuttua, etc.), the complement is put in the translative.Ilma muuttuu lämpimäksi,the weather grows warm.Poika rupesi palvelijaksi,the boy began to be a servant.Ukko käy heikoksi,the old man gets weak.Hän joutui työmieheksi,he became a workman.
Such sentences asit is impossible to go, orit is necessary for you to go, may be rendered in Finnish asmahdotonta on mennä, ortarpeellista on että menette; but in both cases the realsubject is the infinitive, or the sentence withettäwhich replaces it.
In such sentences the adjective, combined with the verbolla, can be put either in the partitive or in the nominative; but it is very hard, not only to give rules for the employment of the two cases, but even to state the exact difference of meaning between them. As has been seen above,kivi on kovameansthe stone is hard, butkivi on kovaa,the stone belongs to the class of hard things. The same distinction appears to prevail in the case under consideration, but, as the difference is very subtle, it is not surprising that it is often hard to trace. On the whole, the partitive is more usual, because the use of the nominative implies, strictly speaking, that the subject and the complement are co-extensive. But the nominative is more definite, inasmuch as it vaguely implies the existence of particular personal or temporal conditions. Thus,parasta on mennäis the equivalent ofit is best to go; and it is perfectly logical to use the partitive, as clearly it is not meant that the termsgoingandbestare co-extensive. Butparas on mennämeans ratherthe best thing for us under the circumstances is to go; and in this case the use of the nominative is also logical, because the two terms are co-extensive. It can be easily imagined that with so slight a distinction the nominative and partitive are used almost indifferently in most cases. Thus, it is equally correct to sayon surkea nähdä sinua tuossa tilassa, oron surkeata,it is sad to see you in this position. But it is noticeable that—
(1)Parempiandhyväare always used in the nominative.Parempi on odottaa,it is better to wait.Hyvä on olla terveenä,it is good to be healthy. In the case ofparempi, at any rate, this is quite natural, as there can hardly be said to be a class of better things without reference to particular circumstances. But this point cannot be pressed, as other comparatives are used in the partitive.
(2) In such phrases ason mahdotonta,it is impossible;onko luvallistra,is it allowable;onko mahdollista,is it possible?the partitive is nearly always used.
The object, like the subject, can be either total or partial. It is regarded as total when the whole of the object is represented as affected by the action of a transitive verb, and partial when only a part of it is affected by such action. Thus inmies ampui linnut,the man shot the birds, the object is total; but inmies ampui lintuja,the man shot some birds, it is partial, because in the first case no birds are thought of except those shot, who all come under the action of the verb, whereas in the second there is a vague reference to all existing birds, of which some only have been shot. Further, the object is regarded as partial whenever the action of the verb is continuous or incomplete, because the action is, so to speak, extending over the object, but has not yet embraced the whole of it. Thus, inminä kirjoitan kirjettä,I am writing a letter, the object is regarded as partial; but inminä olen kirjoittanut kirjeen,I have written a letter, it is total. The object of a negative verb is always in the partitive.
The object may be put—
By accusative is meant that case which corresponds in the singular with the genitive, and in the plural with the nominative.
I. The total object of an active finite verb, in any mood but the imperative, is put in the accusative, unless it is a cardinal number.
Hän myi hevosen,he sold the horse.Veljeni panee rahat taskuun,my brother puts the money in his pocket.Ammuin pyyt metsässä,I shot the partridges in the wood; butammuin viisi pyytä,I shot five partridges.
II. The Object is put in the partitive if it is partial, whatever the verb may be. From what has been said above it will be seen that this implies that the partitive must be used:—
(1) When the object is strictly speaking partial and denotes a part of something, not a whole.Antakaa minulle maitoa,teetä, etc.,give me some milk,some tea, etc.Hän söi leipää ja voita,he ate some bread and butter.Isä antoi rahaa pojalle,the father gave the boy some money.
(2) When the verb is negative.En saanut kirjaa,I did not receive the book.Me emme tunne ystävääsi,we do not know your friend.Älä revi kirjaa,don’t tear the book.Lasta ei rakasteta,the child is not loved.
(3) When the action of the verb is continuous and not finished.Hän lukee kirjaa,he is reading the book.Seppä takoo rautaa,the smith is hammering the iron.Hän juuri toimittaa sitä asiata,he is just now doing the business. Often there is a difference in the meaning of a verb, according as it is followed by the accusative or partitive; the former denoting that the action is more complete.Han löi koiraa,hestruckthe dog; buthän löi koiran,hekilledthe dog.Hän repi kirjaa,hetorethe book; butrepi kirjan,hetorethe bookto pieces. A great many verbs never take a total object, because from the nature of their signification, their action cannot be definite and complete, but must be regarded as continuous. This is especially the case with verbs expressing a feeling.Niin rakasti Jumala maailmaa,so God loved the world.Neuvoin ystävääni olemaan menemättä,I advised my friend not to go.Odotin häntä kaksi tuntia,I waited two hoursfor him.Seurasin häntä Helsinkiin asti,I followed him to Helsingfors.Vihatkaatte pahaa,hate evil.
III. The object is also put in the nominative—
(1) If it is the total object of an imperative.Anna leipä pojalle,give the boy the bread.Vie hevonen talliin,take the horse to the stable.
(2) If it is the total object of an infinitive, which depends on an imperative, and sometimes in other cases (videp.185).Käske tuoda ruoka pyötään,order the food to be put on the table.Antakaa lähettää sähkösanoma,have a telegram sent.
(3) If it is a cardinal number.Maksoin kolme ruplaa,I paid three rubles.
(4) As has already been stated, the so-called passive is an impersonal verb with its total object in the nominative and its partial object in the partitive. For a detailed explanation,videp.181.
An intransitive verb can sometimes take an accusative after it to express the result of its action.Äiti makasi lapsensa kuoliaaksi,the mother lay on her child and killed it(lit.slept her child dead).Juoksi itsensä väsyksiin,he ran himself tired.Hän joi itsensä siaksi,he drank himself silly.Puhui suunsa puhtaaksi,he spoke out his mind.
As a rule, an adjective agrees with a noun in case and number.
Hyvä mies,a good man;hyvät miehet,good men.Näissä suurissa kaupungeissa,in these large towns.Köyhille lapsille,to the poor children.
There are, however, a considerable number of exceptions.
(1) Adjectives, as well as substantives, from which they can hardly be distinguished, enter very readily into composition as the first member of a compound word, and then are not declined, e.g.mustameri,the Black Sea.Isokyrö,Vähäkyrö, names of villages. Cf. such expressions asmennyt vuonna,rankka sateella,tuiskusäällä,pakkasilmalla.
(2) Some adjectives are never declined:aika,kelpo,oiva,ensi,viime,eri,joka,koko,nyky,pikku.
Ensi maanantaina,on next Monday.Kelpo miehelle,to the good man.Eri osat,separate parts.Joka paikassa,in every place.
(3) A certain number of adjectives and pronouns, instead of following the regular construction, take after them an instructive plur. or a partitive sing., e.g.olla pahoilla mielin,to be in a good temper;tulla hyville mielin,to get into a good temper.Samalla ajoin,at the same time.Kaikissa paikoin,everywhere.Omilla korvinorsilmin,with one’s own eyesorears.Näillä seuduin,in this part of the world.
(4) The wordskulta,dear;parka,raiska,raukka,riepu,poor,wretched;vaivainen,poor;vainaja,dead;paha,pahanen,polo,polonen,poor, though written separately, form a sort of compound with a substantive, which they may either precede or follow. Only the last of the two words is declined. Thus,poika polosella oli kiire,orpolo pojalla,the poor boy had to hurry.Älä suututa äiti kultaani,orkulta äitiäni,do not anger my dear mother.Minä en nähnyt lapsi parkaani,I have not seen my poor child.Woi minua mies parkaa,woe is me, poor man.
As will be perceived from the rules given above (p.124), an adjective predicated of a substantive does not always agree with the latter, but may be in the partitive, essive, or translative, when the substantive is in the nominative.
A substantive in apposition to another is usually in the same case.
It is to be noted that in such expressions asthe town of Petersburg,the Emperor Alexander, the Finnish idiom conforms to the English in this respect, that if the object is inanimate, the proper name is put in the genitive.Helsingin kaupunki,the town of Helsingfors.Suomenmaa,Finland. In the case of a river either the nominative or genitive can be used.Nevan jokiorNeva joki,the river Neva.
But if the proper name denotes an animate object, or a ship, it is put in the nominative, and remains in that case, even though the word in apposition to it is inflected.Keisari Suuriruhtinas Georg Aleksandrovitschin kanssa,the Emperor with the Grand Duke George Alexandrovitch.Professori Alquistin kuolema on suuri vahinko Suomelle,the death of Professor Alquist is a great blow to Finland.
When a word in apposition denotes the state of the subject at a given time, and not a general characteristic, it is put in the essive case.Poikana hän oli sairas,as a boy he was ill.
There is no article in Finnish. Sometimesyksi(one) is used to represent the indefinite article, and in poetry the definite article is frequently expressed by a pronoun, such astuoorse.
The rules given above will have made it clear, however, that under some circumstances Finnish can mark by the use of the cases the same distinction which we mark by the article. It may be said roughly that the nominative generally represents a substantive with the definite article in English (this would be still more true of French), and the partitive a substantive without an article. Thus,linnut ovat puussameansthe birds arein the tree; butlintuja on puussa,there are birds in the tree.Ammuin lintujaisI shot some birds;ammuin linnut,I shot the birds. So, too,kivet ovat kovatmeansthe stones are hard; whilekivet ovat koviameans ratherstones are hard. It would, however, be misleading to state such rules too dogmatically, as doubtless many instances could be found where the use of the nominative and partitive would not correspond to that of the article in English. Naturally, a language which has no articles and no gender is obliged to construct sentences differently from tongues which have these distinctions, and Finnish sentences, particularly in the older and simpler literature, are generally more precise than ours.
The majority of the cases of the Finnish noun have, at any rate in their origin, a local meaning. Of these local cases two obvious groups are found, one called the interior local cases (inessive, elative, and illative), the other the exterior cases (the adessive, ablative, and allative). Another group is formed by the essive, partitive, and translative, which, however, do not hang together so closely as the cases above cited, inasmuch as the primary local meaning has in all of them been obscured by metaphorical uses. In all these groups the first member (inessive, adessive, essive) denotes originally rest in a position; the second (elative, ablative, partitive) motion from; the third (illative, allative, translative) motion to. From the original local meaning, all the cases, except the allative, come to indicate time. It may be roughly said that the first member denotes present time, the second past time, and the third future time. They are also used in a metaphorical sense, in which case thefirst members of the groups denote the state in which anything is, the second the state from which anything passes, and the third the state into which anything passes. In the first and second groups there is a close correspondence in the metaphorical use of the various members of the group: that is to say, if one member can be used metaphorically to express existence in a state, the others can be used to express a transition from or to it. Most of the cases have, however, in addition to these common uses, others which are peculiar to themselves and are not shared by the other members of the group.
The usage of the first and second group also shows many coincidences. It is generally said that the first group denotes local position with regard to the interior, and the second with regard to the exterior of the object. In the present state of the language, however, the distinction in this form is not very clearly observed, as will be seen by the examples given. The second group has a tendency to denote persons rather than things, whereas the first is used more of inanimate objects. The third group is mainly used in metaphorical senses. It is noticeable that there are many coincidences between the uses of the partitive and the elative.
Most of the other cases call for little comment. The instructive is used mostly adverbially, but plays a considerable part in the construction of sentences, and is likely to be troublesome to a beginner on account of its resemblance to the genitive in form. The prolative is rarely used. The comitative and abessive express respectively the presence and absence of an object. The former is not much used, but the peculiarities of the Finnish construction have caused the latter to in some ways take the place of a negative.
As has already been stated in the Accidence, it would appear that in some of the cases two forms have been merged in one. Thus it appears that the adessive represents (1) a local case,(2) an instrumental. So, too, the genitive represents (1) a case denoting the relation existing between objects, (2) a dative. The nominative is also used (1) as a real nominative, (2) as an accusative, having perhaps lost the termination in this latter case.
To understand Finnish syntax it is of the greatest importance to remember that there is no real distinction between nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. In fact, all the words of a sentence, except the forms of a finite verb (and a few particles which have become petrified) are nouns, and as such are susceptible of declension, so that the significance of the cases has an importance extending over almost the entire grammar.
Most of the uses of the nominative have already been indicated.
I. It is employed as the subject of a sentence if the subject is total. The subject of a transitive verb is always considered as total (videp.122).Ihmiset kuolevat,men are mortal.Seppä myi hevosen,the smith sold the horse.Mitä sijat maksavat?what do the places cost?
II. It also is used in the predicate, under the conditions mentioned, page123.Silta on leveä,the bridge is wide.Ystäväni tytär on seitsemän vuotias,my friend’s daughter is seven years old.
III. It is used as the direct object after an imperative, or an infinitive depending on an imperative (videp.128).Lyökämme käsi kätehen(Kal. i. 21).Päästä piika pintehestä(Kal. i. 173).Kun solmit ystäwyyttä, tee aina umpisolmu,when you tie the knot of friendship, make it hard to untie.Tuokaa minulle kahvi,give me the coffee.Pankaa tämä kirje postiin,post this letter.
IV. When the passive form of the verb is used, the subject (or more properly object) is put in the nominative, if it is total.Hän saatetaan kotia,he is conducted home(videp.182).
V. The nominative is used as the vocative.Oi ukko ylijumala!Weli kulta, weikkoseni, kaunis kasvinkumppalini!
VI. The nominative absolute is frequently used. Kal. xvi. 192-3.Tuonen hattu hartioilla, Manan kintahat käessä,the hat of death on thy head, and the gloves of death on thy hands.Ei vahinko tule kello kaulassa,misfortune does not come with a bell round his neck.Harvoin on se mies piippu poissa suusta,this man is rarely without a pipe in his mouth.Hän makaa ulkona pää paljaana,he sleeps out of doors with his head bare.
The original meaning of this case seems to have been motion from a place, and traces of this signification are found in the formskotoa,ulkoa,kaukaa,takaa,tyköä, andluota.Tulla ulkoa,to come from out of doors;nähdä kaukaa,to see from far. The partitive is also apparently used locally in such expressions astulkaa tätä tietä,come this way;minä käyn tietä,I go by the road;he kulkivat matkaansa,they went on their way. Perhaps, however, these might be explained by supposing that the intransitive verbstulla,käydä, etc. take a cognate object. The use of the partitive of the participle passive (p.198) to denote ‘after’ is noticeable.
Hence the case passes not unnaturally to mean what is taken from, or forms part of a thing.
I. A substantive preceded by words which express a quantity or measure is put in the partitive.Joukko ihmisiä,a crowd of men;naula lihaa,a pound of meat;paljo rahaa,much money;vähä voita,a little butter.
Similarly a cardinal number, if it is the subject of a sentence, is followed by the partitive sing. of the word which it qualifies.Kolme poikaa,three boys;seitsemän veljeä,seven brothers. In the same way we have,kaksi kymmentä,two tensortwenty. But if the word qualified by the numeral would not be in the nominative in ordinary European languages, the two agree in case (videp.172).
II. The word expressing quantity is omitted and the partitive stands alone as the subject of the sentence. This construction can often, though not always, be rendered by the word ‘some’ in English, or by ‘de’ with the article in French.Leipää on pöydällä,there is some bread on the table(il y a du pain sur la table). It is to be noticed that in this construction the verb of which the partitive is the subject must be intransitive, and is always in the singular, though the subject should be in the plural.Onko teillä vaatteita?have you any clothes?
The subject of a negative sentence is put in the partitive, in cases where we should say in English,—‘There is not’ or ‘there is no.’Ei ole täällä ihmisiä,there are no men here. In such a sentence asen ole merilohia, syvän aallon ahvenia(Kal. v. 122),I am not a salmon, the partitive must be explained as indicating a class,I am not one of the salmons. In ordinary Finnish the partitive is only used in this way with determining adjectives. Thus one says,En ole vaimo,I am not a woman; butEn ole niitä vaimoja jotka unhottavat miehensä,I am not one of the women who forget their husbands.
III. The object is put in the partitive whenever it is not total (viderules given above, p.127).Juoda kahvia,to drink some coffee;poika lukee kirjaa,the boy is reading the book. The object of a negative verb is always regarded as partial.Poika ei antanut kirjaa,the boy did not give the book.Hevonen ei jaksanut vetää kuormaa,the horse could not carry the load.
V. As stated in the rules given p.123, the complement of a sentence is put in the partitive when it expresses a whole of which the subject is a part. The partitive is particularly used to express the substance of which a thing is made.Sormus on kultaa,the ring is gold.Kieli on lihaa ja hampaat ovat luuta,the tongue is flesh, and the teeth are bone.
VI. In a sentence expressing comparison the wordkuin(than) can be omitted, and the word which follows the comparative be put in the partitive.Kuu on pienempi kuin aurinko,orkuu on pienempi aurinkoa,the moon is smaller than the sun.Pietari on suurempi Helsinkiä,St. Petersburg is larger than Helsingfors.Eikö Abanan ja Pharpharan wirrat Damaskussa ole kaikkia Israelin vesiä paremmat?Are not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
VII. Adjectives expressing height or size require the partitive.Kirkon torni on kaksi sataa jalkaa korkea,the church tower is 200 feet high.Joki on kaksikymmentä jalkaa syvä,the river is 200 feet deep.Silta on puolta virstaa pitkä,the bridge is half a verst long.
VIII. The partitive is used in salutations, exclamations, etc., where it is to be explained by the omission of some word.Hyvää iltaa,hyvää huomenta(I wish you) good morning;kiitoksia,thanks;terveisiä,my compliments;mahdotonta!impossible!kauheaa,horrible!So too in such expressions asvoi päiviäni.