The partitive · Finnish grammar A1

Contents · A1

Being and asking
The local cases
The present
Having
The partitive
Word types
Numbers and time
Describing and the object
Commands
Postpositions and question words
Spoken Finnish
The past

The partitive is the case of an indefinite amount and of an incomplete whole. It is used where English says some or nothing (coffee, some bread), after a number from two upwards, after paljon and vähän, in a negative sentence, and for the object of a few verbs. Its singular endings are -a/-ä, -ta/-tä and -tta/-ttä, chosen by the end of the word and by vowel harmony.

Some of something with -a or -ä: kahvia, maitoa, leipää#

Formation

A noun ending in one short vowel takes -a or -ä in the partitive: kahvi → kahvia, maito → maitoa, kala → kalaa, leipä → leipää. The partitive has the strong grade, the grade of the basic form: leipä → leipää, kauppa → kauppaa, though the inessive is leivässä, kaupassa.

Basic form	Partitive
kahvi	kahvia
maito	maitoa
juusto	juustoa
kala	kalaa
mehu	mehua
leipä	leipää
jäätelö	jäätelöä

Use

The partitive of a substance (coffee, milk, bread, money) is “some” of it, an amount not counted. Greetings such as Hyvää päivää! and Hyvää huomenta! are partitive phrases too.

Juon kahvia ja syön leipää.I'm drinking coffee and eating bread.
Haluatko mehua?Would you like some juice?
Ostan juustoa ja kalaa.I'm buying cheese and fish.

Difference from English

English marks an amount of a substance with some or with nothing (I'm buying fish); Finnish marks it with the partitive ending: Ostan kalaa.

Common mistakes

~~Juon kahvi.~~ → Juon kahvia.An amount of a drink is in the partitive.
~~leivää~~ → leipääThe partitive has the strong grade.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Some of something with -a or -ä: kahvia, maitoa, leipää

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Some of something with -ta, -tä or -tta: teetä, olutta, vettä#

Formation

-ta/-tä is added after a long vowel (tee → teetä, suklaa → suklaata, maa → maata), after two vowels in a word of one syllable (työ → työtä, voi → voita) and after a consonant (olut → olutta, mies → miestä, lounas → lounasta, puhelin → puhelinta). A word ending in -e takes -tta/-ttä: huone → huonetta, perhe → perhettä. A few old words in -i have a partitive of their own: vesi → vettä, lapsi → lasta, kieli → kieltä.

End of the word	Basic form	Partitive
long vowel; two vowels, one syllable	tee, suklaa, työ	teetä, suklaata, työtä
consonant	olut, lounas, mies	olutta, lounasta, miestä
-e	huone, perhe	huonetta, perhettä
old -i words	vesi, lapsi, kieli	vettä, lasta, kieltä

Use

The uses are those of -a/-ä: an amount of a substance, a number, a negative sentence. The stems of the old -i words are explained in Words ending in -i, new and old: bussin, kielen, veden, uutta.

Juon teetä ilman sokeria.I drink tea without sugar.
Saanko lasin vettä?Can I have a glass of water?
Pekka ostaa olutta ja suklaata.Pekka buys beer and chocolate.
Lauralla ja Pekalla ei ole lasta.Laura and Pekka don't have a child.

Difference from English

English water and tea have one form; Finnish vesi has the partitive vettä, a form learnt with the word.

Common mistakes

~~Juon vesiä.~~ → Juon vettä.The partitive of vesi is vettä.
~~huoneta~~ → huonettaA word in -e takes -tta.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Some of something with -ta, -tä or -tta: teetä, olutta, vettä

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Counting with the partitive: kaksi kahvia, kolme lasta#

Formation

After a number from kaksi (two) upwards, the noun is in the partitive singular: kaksi kahvia, kolme lasta, viisi kynää, kymmenen minuuttia. After yksi (one), the noun is in its basic form: yksi kahvi.

Use

A number with a noun as the subject takes a verb in the singular: Neljä lasta on puistossa. An adjective with the noun is in the partitive too: kaksi isoa taloa. The numbers are given in Counting from one to a thousand: kaksi, viisitoista, sata, tuhat.

Kaksi kahvia, kiitos.Two coffees, please.
Tomilla on kolme veljeä.Tom has three brothers.
Viikossa on seitsemän päivää.There are seven days in a week.
Odotan kymmenen minuuttia.I'll wait ten minutes.

Difference from English

English puts the noun in the plural after a number (two teas); Finnish puts it in the partitive singular: kaksi teetä.

Common mistakes

~~kaksi kahvit~~ → kaksi kahviaAfter a number, the noun is in the partitive singular.
~~yksi kahvia~~ → yksi kahviAfter yksi, the noun is in its basic form.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Counting with the partitive: kaksi kahvia, kolme lasta

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Verbs with an object in the partitive: odotan bussia, rakastan sinua#

Formation

A few common verbs take their object in the partitive: odottaa (wait for), auttaa (help), rakastaa (love), katsoa (look at, watch), kuunnella (listen to), etsiä (look for), ajatella (think about), and puhua with the name of a language: Odotan bussia. Autan äitiä. Puhun suomea.

Use

These verbs express an act with no result reached: one waits, helps or loves, but nothing is finished. A name is in the partitive like any noun: Liisa → Liisaa, Pekka → Pekkaa (the strong grade). The personal pronouns have their own partitive: minua, sinua, häntä (The personal pronouns in the partitive: minua, sinua, häntä).

Odotamme junaa asemalla.We're waiting for the train at the station.
Juha auttaa isää puutarhassa.Juha is helping his father in the garden.
Rakastan Liisaa.I love Liisa.
Katsotko elokuvaa?Are you watching a film?

Difference from English

English wait for and look for have a preposition, help and love a plain object; in Finnish there is no word for for, and the object is in the partitive.

Common mistakes

~~Odotan bussin.~~ → Odotan bussia.The object of odottaa is in the partitive.
~~Odotan bussia varten.~~ → Odotan bussia.English for has no Finnish word here.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Verbs with an object in the partitive: odotan bussia, rakastan sinua

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Eating and drinking: syön leipää, juon maitoa#

Use

Food and drink taken as an amount are in the partitive after syödä, juoda, ostaa and ottaa: Syön leipää. Juon maitoa. Ostan lihaa. A meal is in the partitive after syödä: syödä aamiaista, lounasta, illallista. An adjective agrees with the noun: kuumaa kahvia, kylmää vettä.

Aamulla syömme leipää ja juustoa.In the morning we eat bread and cheese.
Tom juo olutta ja Emma viiniä.Tom drinks beer and Emma wine.
Syömme lounasta ravintolassa.We have lunch in a restaurant.
Otan kuumaa teetä.I'll have some hot tea.

Difference from English

English I drink milk has no ending and no article; in Finnish the drink is in the partitive: Juon maitoa. A whole countable food, such as an apple, has another form, explained in Food and drink, whole or some: omenan, omenaa, kahvia.

Common mistake

~~Syön aamiainen.~~ → Syön aamiaista.A meal is in the partitive after syödä.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Eating and drinking: syön leipää, juon maitoa

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Saying how much: paljon rahaa, vähän aikaa, kuinka paljon?#

Formation

After paljon (a lot of, much) and vähän (a little, little) the noun is in the partitive: paljon rahaa, vähän aikaa. The question is kuinka paljon? (how much?), followed by the partitive: Kuinka paljon maitoa? Paljonko? is a shorter form, used for prices: Paljonko tämä maksaa?

Minulla on paljon työtä tänään.I have a lot of work today.
Juon vähän kahvia.I drink a little coffee.
Kuinka paljon sokeria otat?How much sugar do you take?
Paljonko lippu maksaa?How much is the ticket?

Difference from English

English a lot of and a little have of or an article; Finnish paljon and vähän are single words, followed by the partitive.

Common mistake

~~paljon raha~~ → paljon rahaaAfter paljon, the noun is in the partitive.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, Saying how much: paljon rahaa, vähän aikaa, kuinka paljon?

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The personal pronouns in the partitive: minua, sinua, häntä#

Formation

The personal pronouns have their own partitive forms: minua, sinua, häntä, meitä, teitä, heitä.

Pronoun	Partitive
minä	minua
sinä	sinua
hän	häntä
me	meitä
te	teitä
he	heitä

Use

The partitive of a pronoun is used after the verbs that take a partitive object: Rakastan sinua. Odotatko minua? Autamme heitä. Häntä is both “him” and “her”.

Rakastan sinua.I love you.
Odotatko minua?Are you waiting for me?
Ajattelen häntä usein.I often think about him.
Voitko auttaa meitä?Can you help us?

Difference from English

English me, him and us are one object form each; Finnish has several, and after these verbs the partitive is used.

Common mistake

~~Rakastan sinä.~~ → Rakastan sinua.After rakastaa, the pronoun is in the partitive.

In short

Point	Form	Example
after one short vowel	-a, -ä (strong grade)	kahvia, leipää
after a long vowel or a consonant	-ta, -tä	teetä, olutta
after -e	-tta, -ttä	huonetta
old -i words	learnt	vettä, lasta, kieltä
after a number	partitive singular (not after yksi)	kaksi kahvia
partitive verbs	odottaa, auttaa, rakastaa, katsoa	Odotan bussia.
food and drink	an amount	Juon maitoa.
how much	paljon, vähän, kuinka paljon	paljon rahaa
pronouns	minua, sinua, häntä, meitä, teitä, heitä	Rakastan sinua.

Practise

“The partitive: some, after a number, after a verb (kahvia, kaksi lasta, Rakastan sinua.)”, The personal pronouns in the partitive: minua, sinua, häntä

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