Grammar on Finnish Notes

Alphabet

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Aakkoset - Alphabet 🔤 #

Finnish Alphabet #

The Finnish alphabet consists of 29 letters.

Letter	Pronunciation	Letter	Pronunciation	Letter	Pronunciation
A	[aa]	K	[koo]	U	[uu]
B	[bee]	L	[äl]	V	[vee]
C	[see]	M	[äm]	W	[kaksois-vee]
D	[dee]	N	[än]	X	[äks]
E	[ee]	O	[oo]	Y	[yy]
F	[äf]	P	[pee]	Z	[tseta]
G	[gee]	Q	[kuu]	Å	[ruotsalainen oo]
H	[hoo]	R	[är]	Ä	[ää]
I	[ii]	S	[äs]	Ö	[öö]
J	[jii]	T	[tee]

Vowel Harmony

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Vokaaliharmonia - Vowel Harmony 🎵 #

What is Vowel Harmony? #

Vowel harmony (vokaaliharmonia or vokaalisointu) is a fundamental rule in Finnish that influences every verb and noun when conjugated or inflected. It determines which vowels can appear together in a word and which suffix variants to use.

The Basic Rule #

Finnish vowels are divided into two main groups. In general, within one word, you will only find vowels from one group OR from the other group. The two groups don’t normally mix.

Personal Pronouns and Verb 'To Be'

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Persoonapronominit ja olla-verbi #

Personal Pronouns and Verb “To Be” 👤

Personal Pronouns and “olla” (to be) #

Pronoun	Finnish	Verb	English
I	minä	olen	I am
you (singular)	sinä	olet	you are
he/she/it	hän/se	on	he/she/it is
we	me	olemme	we are
you (plural)	te	olette	you are
they	he/ne	ovat	they are

Notes #

Pronouns for “he/she/it” #

hän - used for people (he/she)
se - used for things and animals (it)
- In spoken Finnish, “se” is also commonly used for people

Pronouns for “they” #

he - used for people (they)
ne - used for things and animals (they)
- In spoken Finnish, “ne” is also commonly used for people

Example Sentences #

Minä olen opiskelija. (I am a student.)
Sinä olet suomalainen. (You are Finnish.)
Hän on opettaja. (He/She is a teacher.)
Me olemme Helsingissä. (We are in Helsinki.)
Te olette ystäviä. (You are friends.)
He ovat kiinalaisia. (They are Chinese.)

Question Words

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kysymyssanat - Question Words ❓ #

Common Question Words #

English	Finnish	Example Question	Example Answer
who	kuka	Kuka sinä olet?	Minä olen Olga.
what + be	mikä	Mikä päivä tänään on?	Tänään on maanantai.
what + verb	mitä	Mitä kieltä sinä puhut?	Minä puhun italiaa.
when	milloin	Milloin kurssi on?	Kurssi on maanantaina.
what nationality	minkämaalainen	Minkämaalainen Pedro on?	Hän on brasilialainen.
where	missä	Missä te asutte?	Me asumme Suomessa.
from where	mistä	Mistä sinä olet kotoisin?	Olen kotoisin Brasiliasta.
to where	mihin	Mihin sinä menet?	Minä menen kotiin.
why	miksi	Miksi et osta jäätelöä?	Koska minä säästän rahaa.
how	kuinka	Kuinka vanha sinä olet?	Minä olen 23 vuotta vanha.
what kind of	millainen

Notes #

mikä vs mitä #

mikä - used with the verb “to be” (olla)
- Mikä päivä tänään on? (What day is today?)
mitä - used with action verbs
- Mitä sinä teet? (What are you doing?)

Location Words #

missä - where (in/at a location)
mistä - from where (origin/source)
mihin - to where (destination)

Example Sentences #

Kuka hän on? (Who is he/she?)
Mikä tämä on? (What is this?)
Mitä sinä syöt? (What are you eating?)
Milloin tapaamme? (When do we meet?)
Missä sinä asut? (Where do you live?)
Mistä sinä tulet? (Where are you coming from?)
Mihin sinä menet? (Where are you going?)
Miksi sinä opiskelet suomea? (Why do you study Finnish?)
Kuinka voit? (How are you?)

Yes/No Questions with ko/kö

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

ko/kö-kysymys - Yes/No Questions 🤔 #

What is ko/kö-question? #

In Finnish, yes/no questions are formed by adding -ko or -kö to the end of the verb. The verb moves to the beginning of the sentence.

How to Form #

Positive Statements → Questions #

Pattern: Move verb to start + add -ko/-kö

Example 1 #

Statement: (Sinä) olet suomalainen.
Question: Oletko (sinä) suomalainen?
- Are you Finnish?

Example 2 #

Statement: Hän asuu Suomessa.
Question: Asuuko hän Suomessa?
- Does he/she live in Finland?

Negative Statements → Questions #

Example 3 #

Statement: (Sinä) et puhu englantia.
Question: Etkö (sinä) puhu englantia?
- Don’t you speak English?

More Examples #

Statement	Question
Sinä olet opiskelija.	Oletko sinä opiskelija?
Hän puhuu suomea.	Puhuuko hän suomea?
Te asutte Helsingissä.	Asutteko te Helsingissä?
Minä olen kiinalainen.	Olenko minä kiinalainen?

Answering ko/kö Questions #

Yes: Kyllä / Joo (informal)
No: Ei / En (I don’t) / Emme (we don’t) / etc.

Examples:

KPT Variation

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Konsonanttivaihtelu - KPT Variation 🔄 #

What is KPT Variation? #

KPT variation is a sound change where consonants alternate between “strong” and “weak” forms depending on the syllable structure.

Basic Rules #

Consonants change when:

Adding endings that close/open syllables
Conjugating verbs
Declining nouns

Strong ↔ Weak Mapping #

Strong->Weak		Weak->Strong
kk	k	k	kk
pp	p	p	pp
tt	t	t	tt
nt	nn	nn	nt
nk	ng	ng	nk
mp	mm	mm	mp
lt	ll	ll	lt
rt	rr	rr	rt
t	d	d	t
k	∅	∅	k
k	v
p	v	v	p
lki	lje	hje	hke
rki	rje	lje	lke

Exceptions #

KPT variation does NOT apply when:

Noun Types

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sanatyypit - Noun Types and Declension 📎 #

Finnish nouns are classified into types based on their KPT (consonant gradation) patterns and how they change across cases. Mastering noun types is the key to predicting case forms.

A-Class Nouns #

Strong grade: nominative, partitive, illative
Weak grade: genitive, 5 locative cases (inessive, elative, allative, adessive, ablative)

Words ending in a single vowel (a o u ä ö y) #

Genitive: weak stem + n
Partitive: + a/ä

Nominative	Genitive	Partitive	English
kala	kalan	kalaa	fish
talo	talon	taloa	house
katu	kadun	katua	street
sänky	sängyn	sänkyä	bed
katto	katon	kattoa	roof
kauppa	kaupan	kauppaa	trade
iso	ison	isoa	big
laatikko	laatikon	laatikkoa	box
vaimo	vaimon	vaimoa	wife

Words ending in a double vowel #

Genitive: stem + n (no KPT change; double vowel stays)
Partitive: + ta/tä
Exception: endings in ia / ea / eä take +a/ä instead of ta/tä

Nominative	Genitive	Partitive	English
vaikea	vaikean	vaikeaa	difficult
takuu	takuun	takuuta	warranty
museo	museon	museota	museum
korkea	korkean	korkeaa	high
viileä	viileän	viileätä	cool

vaikea and korkea end in -ea, so partitive adds -a directly (vaikeaa), not -ta.

Genitive Case

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Genetiivi - Genitive Case 📝 #

The genitive case expresses possession or relationship, similar to the possessive “’s” in English.

Formation #

For words ending in a consonant, add -n.

For words ending in a vowel, the formation depends on the word type (see noun declension patterns).

Personal Pronouns in Genitive #

Nominative	Genitive	English
minä	minun	my
sinä	sinun	your
hän	hänen	his/her
me	meidän	our
te	teidän	your (plural)
he	heidän	their

Usage Examples #

Possession #

Minun kirja (my book)
Sinun auto (your car)
Hänen talo (his/her house)

Relationships #

Tämän talon ovi (this house’s door)
Suomen kieli (Finnish language / the language of Finland)
Helsingin keskusta (Helsinki’s center)

Common Patterns #

With Postpositions #

Many postpositions require the genitive case:

Partitive Case

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Partitiivi - Partitive Case 📝 #

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

Formation Rules #

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

When to Use Partitive #

1. After Numbers #

monta + Partitive = many (countable)

Location Cases

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Paikkasijakäännökset - Location Cases 📍 #

Finnish has six location cases divided into two systems: internal (inside) and external (on/at surface).

Internal Location System (S-cases) #

Illative (入格) - Mihin? (Where to?) #

Ending: -Vn, -hVn, -seen

Indicates movement into something.

Formation rules:

Non-monosyllabic word ending in single vowel: double the last vowel + n
Non-monosyllabic word ending in two different vowels: double the last vowel + n
Monosyllabic word ending in two vowels: +hVn (V = last vowel)
Non-monosyllabic word ending in double same vowel: +seen

Examples:

Imperative Mood

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Käskymuoto - Imperative Mood 📢 #

The imperative is used to give commands, instructions, or make requests.

Formation (sinä-person) #

Verb Type	Infinitive	Stem (1st person)	Positive Imperative	Negative Imperative
Type 1	lukea (read)	luen	Lue!	Älä lue!
Type 2	syödä (eat)	syön	Syö!	Älä syö!
Type 3	tulla (come)	tulen	Tule!	Älä tule!
Type 4	avata (open)	avaan	Avaa!	Älä avaa!
Type 5	valita (choose)	valitsen	Valitse!	Älä valitse!

Formation Rule: The imperative is formed from the first person singular stem (without the -n).

Verb Types

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Verb Types #

Finnish verbs are classified into 6 types based on their infinitive endings. Each type follows specific rules for forming the verb stem and applying KPT variation.

Type 1: Verbs Ending in Double Vowels #

Stem formation: Remove the final a/ä

KPT application: Yes

Infinitive & 3rd person: Strong grade
1st & 2nd person: Weak grade

Examples #

puhua (to speak) - stem: puhu-

minä puhun (I speak)
sinä puhut (you speak)
hän puhuu (he/she speaks)
me puhumme (we speak)
te puhutte (you all speak)
he puhuvat (they speak)

asua (to live) - stem: asu-

Imperfect Tense (Past Tense)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Imperfekti - Past Tense ⏰ #

The imperfect tense (imperfekti) is used to express actions that happened in the past. It’s the most common past tense in Finnish.

When to Use Imperfect #

An action is finished and complete - Tapahtuma on ohi, loppu, valmis
- Asuin Saksassa 1997-1999. (I lived in Germany 1997-1999.)
A specific time is mentioned - Sanotaan, milloin
- Liisa osti eilen auton. (Liisa bought a car yesterday.)

General rule: When telling what happened in the past, use the imperfect tense.

Present Perfect Tense

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Perfekti - Present Perfect Tense ✅ #

The present perfect (perfekti) links the past to the present: something still continues, its result is visible now, no exact time is given, or it is an experience. For completed events at a specific time, Finnish uses the imperfect (imperfekti) instead — see Imperfect tense.

Formation #

Structure: olla (present) + past participle (-nut / -nyt singular, -neet plural).

Take the past participle stem (e.g. lukea → luke-) and add the ending that matches vowel harmony and number.

Passive Voice

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Passiivi - Passive Voice 🔄 #

The passive voice in Finnish is used when the action is more important than who performs it, or when the agent is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant.

Formation #

The Finnish passive is formed by adding -taan/-tään to the verb stem (or first infinitive for types 2-6):

Structure by Verb Type #

Verb Type 1: Direct stem + -taan/-tään #

Most Type 1 verbs add -taan/-tään directly to the stem:

Relative Pronouns (joka)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Suhteellinen Pronomi: joka - Relative Pronouns 🔗 #

The relative pronoun joka (that, which, who) is used to introduce relative clauses that provide additional information about a noun.

Two Uses of Relative joka #

1. As an Adjective/Determiner: Each/Every #

joka päivä = each day
Opiskelen suomea joka päivä. (I study Finnish every day.)
Hän käy lenkillä joka päivä. (He/she goes for a jog every day.)
joka kerta = each time

2. As a Relative Pronoun (Main Usage) #

The relative clause introduced by joka modifies a noun in the main clause:

Indefinite Pronouns

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Määrittämättömät Pronominit - Indefinite Pronouns ❓ #

Indefinite pronouns refer to persons or things in a general or non-specific way. Finnish divides them into pronouns for people (joku/ei kukaan) and things (jokin/ei mikään).

Basic Forms (four-way overview) #

	Someone	No one	Something	Nothing
Use	person (ihminen)	person + negative clause	thing (asia, esine)	thing + negative clause
Core words	joku	ei … kukaan	jokin	ei … mikään

In negatives, the finite verb is ei and the pronoun uses the -kaan/-kään series (kukaan ei, en … ketään, ei … mitään, …).

Third Infinitive, -minen, and Verb Rection

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Third infinitive (-ma / -mä), -minen, and verb rection #

This page ties together the third infinitive (the -ma/-mä form), verbal nouns in -minen, verbs that take the illative -maan/-mään, and verb rection (rektio) — which case or form a verb requires after it.

Overview: infinitive forms of puhua #

Finnish has several infinitives. Below, active vs. passive is shown where the distinction is usual (based on puhua). A dash means the form is not used or is marginal in that slot.

Strong->Weak		Weak->Strong
kk	k	k	kk
pp	p	p	pp
tt	t	t	tt
nt	nn	nn	nt
nk	ng	ng	nk
mp	mm	mm	mp
lt	ll	ll	lt
rt	rr	rr	rt
t	d	d	t
k	∅	∅	k
k	v
p	v	v	p
lki	lje	hje	hke
rki	rje	lje	lke

Strong->Weak		Weak->Strong
kk	k	k	kk
pp	p	p	pp
tt	t	t	tt
nt	nn	nn	nt
nk	ng	ng	nk
mp	mm	mm	mp
lt	ll	ll	lt
rt	rr	rr	rt
t	d	d	t
k	∅	∅	k
k	v
p	v	v	p
lki	lje	hje	hke
rki	rje	lje	lke

Strong->Weak		Weak->Strong
kk	k	k	kk
pp	p	p	pp
tt	t	t	tt
nt	nn	nn	nt
nk	ng	ng	nk
mp	mm	mm	mp
lt	ll	ll	lt
rt	rr	rr	rt
t	d	d	t
k	∅	∅	k
k	v
p	v	v	p
lki	lje	hje	hke
rki	rje	lje	lke