Partitiivi - Partitive Case 📝 #

2026-03-22

The partitive case is one of the most important cases in Finnish. It indicates a partial amount or an incomplete action.

Formation Rules #

1. Single vowel ending (except e, some i): add -a/-ä
2. Ending in -ia, -ea, -eä: add -a/-ä
3. Double vowel or consonant ending: add -ta/-tä
4. Ending in -e: add -tta/-ttä
5. Ending in -nen: change to -sta/-stä

When to Use Partitive #

1. After Numbers #

monta + Partitive = many (countable)

vähän + Partitive = a little

paljon + Partitive = many/much (uncountable)

pari + Partitive = a couple

puoli + Partitive = half

nolla + Partitive = zero

Examples:

• kaksi kirjaa (two books)
• kolme taloa (three houses)
• paljon vettä (much water)
• vähän aikaa (a little time)

2. After Partitive Verbs #

Some verbs always take objects in the partitive case:

Examples:

• Minä puhun suomea. (I speak Finnish.)
• Hän rakastaa musiikkia. (He/she loves music.)
• Katson televisiota. (I watch television.)

3. Ainesanat partitiivissa (Uncountable nouns in the partitive) #

Rule 1: Use partitive after many verbs #

• Tämä on kahvia. (This is coffee.)
• Lautasella on spagettia. (There is spaghetti on the plate.)
• Me syömme salaattia. (We eat salad.)

Rule 2: If the uncountable noun is the subject, it can be nominative #

• Kahvi on kupissa. (The coffee is in the cup.)
• Kulta on kallista. (Gold is expensive.)
• Tuo kakku näyttää tosi hyvältä. (That cake looks really good.)

Rule 3: When an uncountable noun is the subject, a predicative adjective is often in partitive #

• Kahvi on kuumaa. (Coffee is hot.)
• Tämä pulla ei ole tuoretta. (This bun is not fresh.)
• Rakkaus on kaunista. (Love is beautiful.)