Pronominit <> Pronouns

]]>

Finnish Greetings[/caption]

Tervehdykset <> Greetings 

]]>

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns show what person it is that is the subject of a sentence.

Finnish	English	Remarks
minä	I
sinä	you	Singular, informal
hän	he / she	Finnish has no grammatical gender, so both “he” and “she” are “hän”.
se	it	Se is used for things and animals, but in coloquial Finnish also for people.
me	we
te	you	Plural (when talking to two friends), or formal (when talking to the president)
he	they
ne	they	Ne refers to things. In colloquial Finnish you can refer to people as “ne”

---

When followed by verbs, the pronouns minä, sinä, me, and te can be left out unless one needs to emphasize the pronoun. This is because the verb ending shows what the subject is. Therefore, it is possible to say: “Olen” instead of “Minä olen” “Olet” instead of “Sinä olet” “Olemme” instead of “Me olemme” “Olette” instead of “Te olette”

Third person pronouns hän, se, he and ne cannot be left out.

Verb types

There are six verb types in Finnish. It’s important to know which verb type a verb belongs to, because every verb type has its own rules when you conjugate them.

---

1. Verb type 1

Verb type 1 is the most commonly used verb type. These types of verbs end in 2 vowels(-aa, -ea, -eä, -ia, -iä, -oa, -ua, -yä, -ää, -öä).

To find this type of verb’s infinitive stem (this is the stem to which you add the endings that are typical for the minä form, the sinä form, etc): remove the -a or -ä. Remember that verb type 1 verbs undergo consonant gradation if possible!

	Puhua (to speak)		Sanoa (to say)		Istua (to sit)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	puhun	I speak	sanon	I say	istun	I sit
sinä	puhut	you speak	sanot	you say	istut	you sit
hän	puhuu	he speaks	sanoo	he says	istuu	he sits
me	puhumme	we speak	sanomme	we say	istumme	we sit
te	puhutte	you speak	sanotte	you say	istutte	you sit
he	puhuvat	they speak	sanovat	they say	istuvat	they sit

Examples of verb type 1 that undergo consonant gradation

Some other common type 1 verbs: ajaa (to drive), alkaa (to start, to begin), antaa (to give, to let (someone do something), to allow), asua (to live in a place, to reside), auttaa (to help), etsiä (to look for, to seek), herättää (to wake (someone) up), hoitaa (to take care of), huutaa (to shout), katsoa (to look at), kieltää (to deny), kiertää (to go around), kirjoittaa (to write), kysyä (to ask), laajentaa (to expand), laskea (to count), lukea (to read), lähteä (to leave), maksaa (to pay, to cost), muistaa (to remember), neuvoa (to give advice), odottaa (to wait, to expect), ostaa

(to buy), ottaa (to take), paistaa (to fry, to shine), puhua (to speak), rakastaa (to love), rakastua (to fall in love), saartaa (to shatter), sallia (to allow), sanoa (to say), soittaa (to call, to play (an instrument)), sortaa (to collapse), tietää (to know something), tuntea (to feel), unohtaa (to forget), unohtua (to forget oneself), vaatia (to demand), ymmärtää (to understand)

---

2. Verb type 2

These types of verbs end in -da/-dä. To find this type of verb’s infinitive stem, youremove the -da/-dä.

Notice that the third person singular doesn’t get the final letter doubled like in verb type 1!

	Saada (to get)		Juoda (to drink)		Syödä (to eat)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	saan	I get	juon	I drink	syön	I eat
sinä	saat	you get	juot	you drink	syöt	you eat
hän	saa	he gets	juo	he drinks	syö	he eats
me	saamme	we get	juomme	we drink	syömme	we eat
te	saatte	you get	juotte	you drink	syötte	you eat
he	saavat	they get	juovat	they drink	syövät	they eat

Some other common type 2 verbs: juoda (to drink), jäädä (to stay), käydä (to visit), luennoida (to lecture), myydä (to sell), pysäköidä (to park), saada (to get, to be allowed), soida (to ring (out), syödä (to eat), terrorisoida (to terrorize), tuoda (to bring), tupakoida (to smoke), uida (to swim), viedä (to take), voida (to be able to)

---

3. Verb type 3

This type of verbs ends in -lla/-llä, -nna/-nnä, -ra/-rä, -sta/-stä (in other words: in two consonants and a vowel). To find this type of verb’s infinitive stem, remove the -la or -lä, -na or -nä, -ra or -rä, or -ta or -tä.To this stem, you add an -e- before adding the personal ending!

Remember that verb type 3 verbs undergo consonant gradation if possible!

	Tulla (to come)		Mennä (to go)		Nousta (to rise)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	tulen	I come	menen	I go	nousen	I rise
sinä	tulet	you come	menet	you go	nouset	you rise
hän	tulee	he comes	menee	he goes	nousee	he rises
me	tulemme	we come	menemme	we go	nousemme	we rise
te	tulette	you come	menette	you go	nousette	you rise
he	tulevat	they come	menevät	they go	nousevat	they rise

Examples of verb type 3 that undergo consonant gradation

Some other common type 3 verbs: ajatella (to think about something), hymyillä (to smile), julkaista (to publish), kiistellä (to quarrel), kuulla (to hear), kuunnella (to listen), kävellä (to walk), mennä (to go), nousta (to rise, to get up), olla (to be), ommella (to sew), opetella (to learn), opiskella (to study), panna (to put), pestä (to wash), purra (to bite), ratkaista (to solve), riidellä (to fight), surra (to mourn), suudella (to kiss), tapella (to fight), tulla (to come, to become), työskennellä (to work)

---

4. Verb type 4

These types of verbs end in -ata/-ätä, -ota/-ötä, -uta/-ytä. To find this type of verb’sinfinitive stem, you remove the -t. (so NOT the final -a!)

The third person singular gets an -a added to the end when the two vowels from the stem are different vowels. When the two vowels are -aa- it wouldn’t make sense to add a third one, so we add nothing. Remember that verb type 4 verbs undergo consonant gradation if possible!

	Haluta (to want)		Osata (to be able to)		Pakata (to pack)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	haluan	I want	osaan	I am able to	pakkaan	I pack
sinä	haluat	you want	osaat	you’re able to	pakkaat	you pack
hän	haluaa	he wants	osaa	he’s able to	pakkaa	he packs
me	haluamme	we want	osaamme	we’re able to	pakkaamme	we pack
te	haluatte	you want	osaatte	you’re able to	pakkaatte	you pack
he	haluavat	they want	osaavat	they’re able to	pakkaavat	they pack

Examples of verb type 4 that undergo consonant gradation

Some other common type 4 verbs: avata (to open), erota (to divorce), hakata (to beat), haluta (to want), herätä (to wake up), huomata (to notice), hypätä (to jump), hävetä (to be ashamed), hävitä (to lose, to disappear), juoruta

(to gossip), kadota (to disappear), kiivetä (to climb), lakata (to stop), luvata (to promise), maata (to lie (down)), määrätä (to determine), osata (to be able to), pelata (to play), pelätä (to be scared), piffata (to treat), pihdata (to skimp), pudota (to fall), ruveta (to start), selvitä (to become clear), siivota (to clean), tarjota (to offer, to serve), tavata (to meet), tilata (to order), todeta (to state), tykätä (to like), vastata (to answer), älytä (to get something, to understand)

---

5. Verb type 5

These types of verbs end in -ita/-itä. Ocassionally, you will come across verbs that have this ending but do not conjugate the same way; these verbs belong to verb type 4.

To find this type of verb’s infinitive stem, you remove the final -ta/-tä. To this stem, you then add -tse- before adding the personal ending!

	Häiritä (to disturb)		Tarvita (to need)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	häiritsen	I disturb	tarvitsen	I need
sinä	häiritset	you disturb	tarvitset	you need
hän	häiritsee	he disturbs	tarvitsee	he needs
me	häiritsemme	we disturb	tarvitsemme	we need
te	häiritsette	you disturb	tarvitsette	you need
he	häiritsevät	they disturb	tarvitsevat	they need

Some other common type 5 verbs: hallita (to rule, to govern, to be able to), havaita (to perceive), hillitä (to restrain, to check, to control), häiritä (to disturb), kyyditä (to give someone a lift, to drive), mainita (to mention), merkitä (to mark), palkita (to reward, to award), tarvita (to need), tulkita (to interpret)

---

6. Verb type 6

Verb type 6 is very rarely used. This type of verb ends in -eta/-etä. The meaning will always be “to become something”, meaning it implies a change from one state to another. If a verb of this type doesn’t mean a change, it will be conjugated like a normal verb type 4 verb.

To find this type of verb’s infinitive stem, you remove the final -ta/-tä. To this stem, you then add -ne- before adding the personal ending! Remember that verb type 6 verbs undergo consonant gradation if possible!

	Vaaleta (to whiten)		Lämmetä (to become warm)
Person	Conjugation	English	Conjugation	English
minä	vaalenen	I whiten	lämpenen	I become warm
sinä	vaalenet	you whiten	lämpenet	you become warm
hän	vaalenee	he whitens	lämpenee	he becomes warm
me	vaalenemme	we whiten	lämpenemme	we become warm
te	vaalenette	you whiten	lämpenette	you become warm
he	vaalenevat	they whiten	lämpenevät	they become warm

Some other common type 6 verbs: paeta (to run away), kylmetä (to get cold), vanheta (to become old), kalveta (to turn pale), valjeta (to brighten up), tarjeta (to stand the cold), rohjeta (to presume), nuoreta (to become younger), pidetä (to become longer), lyhetä (to become shorter), tummeta (to darken), kyetä (to be able to), vaieta (to become silent), aueta (to come loose)

Examples of verb type 6 verbs that get conjugated like verb type 4: kiivetä (to climb), ruveta (to start) and hävetä (to be ashamed)

To have

1. Having something

Finnish doesn’t have a separate verb for “to have”. Instead it uses a different sentence construction, centered around the verb “olla”, “to be”.

Person + lla	Verb	Object
Minulla	on	yksi lapsi.
Sinulla	on	oma huone.
Hänellä	on	vanha talo.
Meillä	on	auto.
Teillä	on	kaksi lasta.
Heillä	on	kissa.
Jaanalla	on	koira.

It’s interesting to note that the “minulla on” literally means“on me there is”. Furthermore, you can see from the sentences above that the “olla” verb doesn’t get conjugated! It is always written in the third person singular “on”.

---

2. Not having something

Not having something follows the same pattern:

Person + lla	Verb	Object
Minulla	ei ole	poikaystävää.
Sinulla	ei ole	omaa huonetta.
Hänellä	ei ole	parveketta.
Meillä	ei ole	perhettä.
Teillä	ei ole	autoa.
Heillä	ei ole	kissaa.
Tiinalla	ei ole	koiraa.

The object of a “minulla ei ole” sentence will be written in the partitive.

There are five exceptions to this rule:

Affirmative	Translation	Negative	Translation
Minulla on kiire.	I’m in a hurry	Minulla ei ole kiire.	I’m not in a hurry.
Sinulla on nälkä.	You’re hungry.	Sinulla ei ole nälkä.	You’re not hungry.
Hänellä on jano.	He’s thirsty.	Hänellä ei ole jano.	He’s not thirsty.
Meillä on kuuma.	We’re hot.	Meillä ei ole kuuma.	We’re not hot.
Heillä on kylmä.	They’re cold.	Heillä ei ole kylmä.	They’re not cold.

For the examples above, the object is written in the nominative even in a negative sentence! Notice also that these are phrases that are very different from English: in English you say “”I am hungry, not “I have hunger” for example.

---

3. Things that have something

Important to notice is also that this rule only counts for living things. If a room has 2 windows, in Finnish you will say “In the room there are two windows.“

Interrogatives

Interrogatives are words formed to make a question. They’re, simply put, questionwords.

Finnish	English
Kuka?	Who?
Kuka soittaa?	Who is calling?
Kuka hän on?	Who is he?
Kuka tulee huomenna?	Who is coming tomorrow?
Mikä?	What?
Mikä tämä on?	What is this?
Mikä on sinun puhelinnumerosi?	What is your telephone number?
Mikä on sinun osoitteesi?	What is your address?
Mitä?	What?
Mitä kieltä sinä puhut?	What language do you speak?
Mitä kuuluu?	How are you?
Mitä kello on?	What time is it?
The difference between mikä and mitä
Missä?	Where? In what?
Missä sinä asut?	Where do you live?
Missä sinä olet työssä?	Where do you work?
Missä hotellissa sinä asut?	In what hotel do you live?
Mistä?	From where? From what?
Mistä sinä tulet?	Where do you come from?
Mistä kaupungista sinä olet kotoisin?	From what city are you originally?
Mistä he puhuvat?	What are they talking about?
Mihin?	To where? Into what?
Mihin sinä menet?	Where are you going?
Mihin laitan ostokset?	Into what do I put the shoppings?
Mihin hiiri juoksi?	Into what did the mouse run?
Miksi?	Why?
Miksi hän ei tule?	Why doesn’t he come?
Miksi hän ei soita?	Why doesn’t he call?
Miksi olet surullinen?	Why are you sad?
Kuinka? Miten?	How?
Kuinka vanha sinä olet?	How old are you?
Kuinka paljon?	How much?
Kuinka usein?	How often?
Kuinka monta?	How many?
Miten hyvin puhut suomea?	How well do you speak Finnish?
Miten sinä menet sinne?	How do you go there?
Milloin?	When?
Milloin sinä tulet?	When do you come?
Milloin hän herää?	When does he wake up?
Milloin Tampere on perustettu?	When was Tampere established?
Millainen?	What kind?
Millainen ilma tänään on?	What kind of weather is it today?
Millainen ihminen sinä olet?	What kind of person are you?
Millainen höyhen on?	What is a feather like?
Minkämaalainen?	What nationality?
Minkämaalainen sinä olet?	What nationality are you?

Affirmative	Translation	Negative	Translation
Asunnossa on ikkuna.	In the apartment there is a window.	Asunnossa ei ole ikkunaa.	In the apartment there isn’t a window.
Pihalla on kori.	In the yard there is a basket.	Pihalla ei ole koria.	In the yard there isn’t a basket.

The difference between mikä and mitä

Both mikä and mitä mean “what?”

---

1. Mikä

When using mikä, you are referring to a defined, concrete thing, something countable. You use it when you want to know what something is, mostly with the verb olla.

Finnish	English
Mikä tämä on?	What is this?
Tämä on pöytä.	This is a table.
Mikä tuo on?	What is that?
Tuo on tuoli.	That is a chair.
Mikä tämä on?	What is this?
Tämä on jauheliha.	This is minced meat.

---

2. Mitä

Mitä is the partitive form of “mikä”. When using mitä, you are referring to something abstract, something undefined.

You mostly use mitä with more active verbs than “olla”. If you do use “olla”, it’s usually to find out what something is made of (pork, lamb) rather than what exactly it is (minced meat). When the verb in your sentence is a partitive verb, it makes sense that the question word is partitive as well.

Finnish	English
Mitä tämä on?	What is this?
Tämä on naudanlihaa.	This is beef.
Mitä kuuluu?	How are you?
Hyvää, kiitos.	I’m well, thanks.
Mitä kello on?	What time it is?
Kello on viisi yli viisi.	It’s five past five.

Finnish Lessons for Busy People Finnish Resources  ]]>