|
Finnish term |
English term |
Notes |
|
abessiivi |
abessive |
old term: vajanto |
|
ablatiivi |
ablative |
old term: ulko-eronto |
|
adessiivi |
adessive |
old term: ulko-olento |
|
adjektiivi |
adjective |
old term: laatusana |
|
adverb |
adverbi |
old term: seikkasana |
|
A-infinitiivi |
I infinitive |
same as I infinitiivi |
|
aikamuoto |
tense |
also known as tempus |
|
ajatusviiva |
en dash |
the character “–”; in some older usage em dash “—” |
|
akkusatiivi |
accusative |
meaning varies; see section Accusative |
|
aktiivi |
active |
|
|
alistuskonjunktio |
subordinating conjunction |
|
|
allatiivi |
allative |
old term: ulkotulento |
|
alus |
subject |
old-fashioned synonym for subjekti |
|
apusana |
particle |
old-fashioned synonym for partikkeli |
|
apuverbi |
auxiliary verb |
|
|
asemo |
pronoun |
old-fashioned synonym for pronomini |
|
aspiraatio |
boundary gemination |
misleading term still in use; also means aspiration when referring to other languages |
|
astevaihtelu |
consonant gradation |
|
|
attribuutti |
attribute |
synonym: määrite |
|
ehtotapa |
conditional |
old-fashioned synonym for conditional |
|
E-infinitiivi |
II infinitive |
same as II infinitiivi |
|
eksistentiaalilause |
presence clause |
also called “existential clause” in English |
|
elatiivi |
elative |
old term: sisäeronto |
|
entispäättymä |
pluperfect |
dated synonym for pluskvamperfekti |
|
epäsuora kysymyslause |
subordinate question |
|
|
erisnimi |
proper name |
synonym: propri |
|
essiivi |
essive |
old term: olento |
|
etusana |
preposition |
old-fashioned synonym for preposition |
|
etuvokaali |
front vowel |
in Finnish, e, i, y, ä, or ö |
|
futuuri |
future tense |
|
|
gemena |
lowercase letter |
synonyms: pieni kirjain, pienaakkonen |
|
genetiivi |
genitive |
old term: omanto |
|
heikko aste |
weak degree |
in consonant gradation |
|
heittomerkki |
apostrophe |
the character |’| |
|
illatiivi |
illative |
old term: sisätulento |
|
imperatiivi |
imperative |
old term: käskytapa |
|
imperfekti |
past tense |
|
|
indikatiivi |
indicative |
old term: tositapa |
|
inessiivi |
inessive |
old term: sisäolento |
|
infinitiivi |
infinitive |
old term: nimitapa |
|
instruktiivi |
instructive |
old term: keinonto |
|
iso kirjain |
capital letter |
synonyms: suuraakkonen, versaali |
|
johdin |
derivative suffix |
|
|
johdos |
derived word |
|
|
jälkisana |
postposition |
old-fashioned synonym for postpositio |
|
kaasus : kaasuksen |
case |
rare; usually sija(muoto) is used instead |
|
kaksoiskonsonantti |
double consonant |
|
|
keinonto |
comitative |
old-fashioned synonym for comitative |
|
kerake |
consonant |
old-fashioned synonym for konsonantti |
|
kertoma |
past tense |
dated synonym for preteriti |
|
kestämä |
present tense |
dated synonym for preesens |
|
kieltomuoto |
negation form |
|
|
kieltopartisiippi |
negative participle |
|
|
kieltosana |
negation word |
|
|
kieltoverbi |
negation verb |
|
|
kohdanto |
accusative |
old-fashioned synonym for akkusatiivi |
|
komitatiivi |
comitative |
old term: seuranto |
|
komparatiivi |
comparative |
dated synonym: voittoaste |
|
konditionaali |
conditional |
old term: ehtotapa |
|
kongruenssi |
congruence |
|
|
konjunktio |
conjunction |
less common synonym: sidesana |
|
konsonantti |
consonant |
old term: kerake |
|
korrelaatti |
antecedent |
|
|
kysymysliite |
interrogative suffix |
-ko or -kö |
|
käskytapa |
imperative |
old-fashioned synonym for imperatiivi |
|
laatusana |
adjective |
old-fashioned synonym for adjektiivi |
|
laatutaoa |
participle |
old-fashioned synonym for partisiippi |
|
lause |
clause |
often used to mean a sentence, virke |
|
lauseenvastike |
clause equivalent |
|
|
liitepartikkeli |
word-like suffix |
usually called “enclitic particle” in English |
|
loppuhenkonen |
boundary gemination |
misleading term still in use |
|
luku |
number |
as a grammatical category (singular vs. plural) |
|
lukusana |
numeral |
more common than numeraali |
|
lyhenne |
abbreviation |
|
|
mahtotapa |
potential mood |
old-fashioned synonym for potentiaali |
|
maine |
predicate |
old-fashioned synonym for predikaatti |
|
MA-infinitiivi |
III infinitive |
same as III infinitiivi |
|
modus |
mood |
old term: tapaluokka |
|
monikko |
plural |
|
|
määrite |
attribute |
still in use |
|
neljäs persoona |
fourth person |
not in common use; usually called passiivi |
|
nimentö |
nominative |
old-fashioned synonym for nominatiivi |
|
nimisana |
noun |
old-fashioned synonym for substantiivi |
|
nimitapa |
infinitive |
old-fashioned synonym for infininitiivi |
|
nominaalimuoto |
nominal form |
infinitive or participle |
|
nominatiivi |
nominative |
old term: nimisana |
|
nomini |
noun-like word, nominal |
noun, adjective, pronoun, or numeral |
|
numeraali |
numeral |
rare; usually lukusana is used instead |
|
olento |
essive |
old-fashioned synonym for essiivi |
|
omanto |
genitive |
old-fashioned synonym for genetiivi |
|
omistusliite |
possessive suffix |
synonym for possessiivisuffiksi |
|
osanto |
partitive |
old-fashioned synonym for partitive |
|
paikallissija |
locational case |
also called “local case” |
|
partikkeli |
particle |
old term: apusana |
|
partisiippi |
participle |
old term: laatutapa |
|
partitiivi |
partitive |
old term: omanto |
|
passiivi |
passive; 4th person |
meaning varies; see section Passive |
|
perfekti |
perfect tense |
|
|
persoona |
person |
|
|
perusaste |
positive |
old-fashioned synonym for positiivi |
|
perusmuoto |
basic form |
|
|
pienaakkonen |
lowercase letter |
synonyms: pieni kirjain, gemena |
|
pluskvamperfekti |
pluperfect tense |
|
|
positiivi |
positive |
dated synonym: perusaste |
|
possessiivisuffiksi |
possessive suffix |
synonym for omistusliite |
|
postpositio |
postposition |
old term: jälkisana |
|
potentiaali |
potential mood |
old term: mahtotapa |
|
predikaatti |
predicate |
old term: maine |
|
preesens |
present tense |
|
|
prepositio |
preposition |
old term: etusana |
|
propri |
proper noun |
synonym: erisnimi |
|
pääte |
suffix |
|
|
päättymä |
perfect tense |
dated synonym for perfekti |
|
rajakahdennus |
boundary gemination |
various other terms are in use, too |
|
rektio |
rection |
|
|
rinnastuskonjunktio |
co-ordinating conjunction |
|
|
sana |
word |
|
|
sanaliitto |
connected words |
e.g. an open compound |
|
sanaluokka |
part of speech |
classes such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc. |
|
sane |
word occurrence |
particular occurrence of a word in text |
|
seikkasana |
adverbi |
old-fashioned synonym for adverb |
|
seuranto |
comitative |
old-fashioned synonym for comitative |
|
sidesana |
conjunction |
more common synonym: konjunktio |
|
sidevokaali |
binding vowel |
|
|
sija |
case |
also sijamuoto for clarity; sometimes kaasus |
|
sijapääte |
case suffix |
|
|
sisäeronto |
elative |
old-fashioned synonym for elatiivi |
|
sisäolento |
inessive |
old-fashioned synonym for inessiivi |
|
sisäsija |
inner locational case |
more often sisäpaikallissija; in English also “internal local case” |
|
sisätulento |
illative |
old-fashioned synonym for illatiivi |
|
sivulause |
subclause |
|
|
substantiivi |
noun |
old term: nimisana |
|
superlatiivi |
superlative |
dated synonym: yliaste |
|
supistumaverbi |
contraction verb |
|
|
suuraakkonen |
capital letter |
synonyms: iso kirjain, versaali |
|
taivutus |
inflection |
|
|
takavokaali |
back vowel |
in Finnish, a, o, or u |
|
tapaluokka |
mood |
old-fashioned synonym for modus |
|
tavuviiva |
hyphen |
the character “-” when added by a hyphenator |
|
tekijä |
person; agent |
|
|
tempus : tempuksen |
tense |
also known as tempus |
|
teonsana |
verb |
old-fashioned synonym for verbi |
|
tositapa |
indicative |
old-fashioned synonym for indikatiivi |
|
translatiivi |
translative |
old term: tulento |
|
tukisubstantiivi |
supporting noun |
|
|
tulento |
translative |
old-fashioned synonym for translatiivi |
|
ulkoeronto |
ablative |
old-fashioned synonym for ablatiivi |
|
ulko-olento |
adessive |
old-fashioned synonym for adessiivi |
|
ulkosija |
outer locational case |
more often ulkopaikallissija; in English also “external local case” |
|
ulkotulento |
allative |
old-fashioned synonym for allatiivi |
|
vahva aste |
strong degree |
in consonant gradation |
|
vajanto |
abessive |
old-fashioned synonym for abessive |
|
vartalo |
stem |
|
|
verbi |
verb |
old term: teonsana |
|
versaali |
capital letter |
synonyms: iso kirjain, suuraakkonen |
|
vertailumuoto |
comparison form |
positiivi, komparatiivi, or superlatiivi |
|
virke |
sentence |
consists of one or more clauses, lause |
|
voittoaste |
comparative |
dated synonym for komparatiivi |
|
vokaali |
vowel |
old term: ääntiö |
|
vokaalisointu |
vowel harmony |
|
|
välilyönti |
space (character) |
|
|
yhdysmerkki |
hyphen |
the character “-”; often called yhdysviiva |
|
yhdysosamuoto |
compositive form |
|
|
yhdyssana |
compound word |
closed compound |
|
yleisnimi |
common noun |
a noun that is not a proper name |
|
yliaste |
superlative |
dated synonym for superlatiivi |
|
yksikkö |
singular |
|
|
ääntiö |
vowel |
old-fashioned synonym for vokaali |
The following table explains the origin of the names of cases in Finnish. This is mostly a matter of curiosity, though the origin may help to remember the names and their meanings. The names are based on past participles of Latin verbs, using the -ive suffix (-iivi in Finnish, -ivus in Latin), with the exception of names ending with “essive”, which are based on the infinitive. The verbs are shown in the second column, in infinitive form, present tense 1st person singular form, and past participle form (if it exists), masculine gender.
|
# |
Name |
Latin verb |
Meaning of the verb |
|
1 |
nominative |
nominare : nomino : nominatus |
name, call; nominate |
|
2 |
genitive |
gignere : gigno : genitus |
beget, bear, produce; cause |
|
3 |
essive |
esse : sum |
be |
|
4 |
partitive |
partire : partio : partitus |
share, distribute, divide |
|
5 |
translative |
transferre : transfero : translatus |
bring across, transport, transfer |
|
6 |
inessive |
inesse : insum |
be in, be on; belong to |
|
7 |
elative |
efferre : effero : elatus |
bring out, carry out |
|
8 |
illative |
inferre : infero : illatus |
carry in, bring to, put on |
|
9 |
adessive |
adesse : adsum |
be present |
|
10 |
ablative |
auferre : aufero : ablatus |
take away, carry away |
|
11 |
allative |
adferre : adfero : adlatus |
bring, carry to, |
|
12 |
abessive |
abesse : absum |
be away, be absent |
|
13 |
comitative |
comitare : comito : comitatus |
accompany |
|
14 |
instructive |
instruere : instruo : instructus |
erect, build up; equip, provide |
|
15 |
accusative |
accusare : accuso : accusatus |
accuse, prosecute |