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Title: A Finnish Grammar

Author: Charles Eliot

Release date: June 23, 2019 [eBook #59795]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FINNISH GRAMMAR ***

London

HENRY FROWDE

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE

AMEN CORNER, E.C.

A

FINNISH GRAMMAR

BY

C. N. E. ELIOT, M.A.

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

Oxford

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1890

[All rights reserved]

Oxford

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

PREFACE.

My object in writing this book has been to give an account of Finnish sufficient to enable any one to understand the grammatical structure of the written language, and also to place before the student of philology an account of the chief phenomena it presents. In this latter respect I am conscious that my treatment is very inadequate on account of my inability to make myself acquainted with the many dialects spoken by the peasantry in various parts, the importance of which for the scientific history of the language cannot be overrated. I trust, however, that I may meet with indulgence, as the present work is, to the best of my belief, the only grammar of Finnish in English, and the only syntax (except brief sketches) in any language more generally accessible than Swedish.

The Finnish language is still in so unsettled and fluid a condition, as regards both forms and style, that it is often hard to say what is correct and what not. A foreigner naturally cannot venture to decide what ought or ought not to be, and I have merely endeavoured to give an account of the forms and constructions found in existence. The examples are taken chiefly from the Kalevala and Bible (which are generally cited by references), from the Suomen Kansan Sananlaskuja of Ahlqwist, from various modern works, and some from the dictionaries of Lönnrot and Geitlin. The remainder have all been approved by natives, and will, hence, I trust, be found idiomatic.

I must acknowledge my obligations to the grammars of Genetz and Hämäläinen, to the Finska Språkets Satslära of Jahnsson, and especially to the excellent Suomen Kielen Lauseoppi of Setälä.

But more than to all of these I am indebted to the constant assistance and collaboration of my friend Mr. Putro of the Finnish School in St. Petersburg, to whose thorough knowledge of the language this work owes whatever accuracy it may possess. I have also to thank Mr. J. Marshall for several philological suggestions.

C. N. E. ELIOT.

March 20, 1890.

HÄNEN KUNINKAALLISEN MAJESTETINSA

LÄHETTILÄÄLLE PIETARISSA

HÄNEN YLHÄISYYDELLENSÄ SIR R. MORIERILLE

KUNNIOITUKSELLA

OMISTAA

TEKIJÄ

INTRODUCTION.

In this book I have endeavoured to give a simple and clear account of the Finnish language, chiefly of that form of it which is now recognised as the ordinary vehicle of literary composition, and have thought it better to set aside as far as possible scientific disquisitions. I now proceed to briefly discuss from a purely theoretical point of view some of the phenomena presented by this curious tongue, in doing which I must express my special obligations to the various works of Professors Donner and Setälä, and also to the account of Die Sprachen der Uralischen Völker in the second volume of Dr. Friedrich Müller’s Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft.

The phonetic system of Finnish is characterized by a great paucity of consonants and a correspondingly great development of vowels. The alphabet has but thirteen of the former: d, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v. Of these it must be observed that d is in modern times only a literary invention, though as it exists in Esthonian and other cognate languages there is no reason to object to its use. It always represents a t which has been weakened by phonetic laws, but in the mouths of the peasantry the sound is either entirely omitted, or else replaced by a cerebral letter (represented in writing by l or r) or by v or j. G also is only found in the combination ng, which has exactly the same sound as in English. The letter h is apparently never original in the middle of words. It appears to me to have really two sounds—as an initial or between vowels, it is simply the English h, but before t and k, it is χ. The other consonants offer no remarkable peculiarities; v appears to be pronounced as in English (labio-dental), and not to be a labio-labial (modern Greek β).

The simple consonants are pronounced much more lightly than in English. T and k in the middle of a word when pronounced naturally by a native, who is not trying to speak distinctly to a foreigner, often seem almost inaudible, and it is noticeable that in foreign words, with which the language is overrun, German and Swedish k, t, p (when not initial) are always represented by kk, tt, pp. It is highly probable that Finnish (like Esthonian) once had the sounds b, d, g. In Agricola are found such forms as näghe for näe, virdhat for virrat. On the other hand, everything points to the fact that the original tongue from which the Finno-Ugric languages were developed had only ten or eleven consonants: k, t, p, s, j, r, l, n, m, v, and perhaps h or χ. For the many curious sounds found in Lapp, Syrjenian, Ostiak, etc., all look as if they were degenerations from a simpler original.

Finnish has eight simple vowels: a, ä, e, i, o, ö, u, y (ü). All of these can be either short, or long, and in the latter case the letter is written double. These doubled letters appear to be genuine long vowels, and to contain no diphthongal element. There are no triphthongs, but sixteen diphthongs, though on the whole Finnish has more simple vowels than other languages of the same group, particularly Lappish.

Though no difference is made in writing between the different values of the vowel i, it appears that there really is a distinction between its value in words like otti, or oli, where the vowels are hard, and in words like näki where they are soft. The hard sound comes very near the Russian ы and the Turkish i̱ in such a word as ‎‏اچملوايدكز‏‎ achmali̱yi̱di̱ni̱z.

The vocalization of words is governed by three laws. The first is well known under the name of vowel harmony. The essence of this is that the hard (a, o, u) and soft (ä, ö, y) vowels cannot coexist in the same word. Not only the Finno-Ugric languages, but also Samoyede, Turkish, Mongolian, and Manchu, have this law at least in the rudimentary form that a root does not contain both hard and soft vowels; but there is much variety as to the degree in which the vowels of the suffixes are assimilated to those of the root to which they are added. The most highly developed form of the law is found in the Turkish dialects (particularly in Yakut), where the vowels of the root and suffix must not only not be discordant, but are as much as possible assimilated to one another. Thus ‎‏پدريكز‏‎ is pronounced pederiniz, your father, but ‎‏دوستكز‏‎ dostunuz, your friend. The same principle appears to prevail in Samoyede, from which are cited such forms as marg-an, tob-on, üg-ün, tšel-en. The other extreme, where the harmony prevails only between the vowels of the root but not between those of the root and the suffixes, is found in nearly all the Finno-Ugric languages except Finnish and Hungarian. In some languages (e.g. Mordvinian) the harmony is not rigorously observed even in the root. It is doubtful if such languages really represent a more primitive phonetic system than Finnish. They may have become affected owing to Russian influence by an inability to accurately distinguish the hard and soft vowels, particularly a and ä, for, though it is very probable that originally the vowel of the suffix was not necessarily the same as that of the root, one would expect those languages which retain the primitive system to distinguish the suffix more clearly than the others from the root, which does not seem to be the case. Finnish in this respect holds a midway position. The vowels of the suffixes are not assimilated, as in Turkish, but they are always of the same quality as those of the root. The suffix s—n or h—n, however, found in the illative and passive, seems to show an approach to the Turkish system, as its vowel is always the same as that which precedes it: kotihin, työhön, töihin, kylähän, talohon, saa(d)ahan, saatihin, saatanehen, saataisihin.

The second vocalic law of Finnish is the exact opposite of the vowel harmony—viz. vowel differentiation. The occurrence of incongruous vowels in one word is discordant, but the excessive repetition of the same vowel is disagreeably monotonous. To avoid this a is often changed into o in words where a is the dominant vowel (pp. 9, 10 for the details), patoja for pataja, annoin for annain; but otin, sotia for ota-in, sota-ia. So also in the Eastern dialect kaloa for kalaa. On the same principle a and ä change to e in comparatives and passives, and thus we have vanhempana and tapetaan instead of such monotonous forms as vanhampana and tapataan. Also two i’s meeting generally become ei.

The third rule relates to the disappearance of final or medial e, and the consequent shortening of words. The chief accent of Finnish, as now pronounced, is on the first syllable of a word, and it is therefore very natural that final vowels should be omitted. In the dialect spoken about S. Petersburg this phenomenon is very frequent and such forms as miss for missä, yks, kaks for yksi and kaksi are common in the mouths of the peasantry. This may, however, be due to the influence of Esthonian and Russian. In correct Finnish final e is omitted only in the nominative singular of polysyllabic stems, the consonantal groups which remain being simplified if the laws of euphony require it: so sisare, tantere, kysymykse become sisar, tanner, and kysymys. In the middle of words the final e of a stem disappears before nominal suffixes beginning with t (and sometimes n) and before verbal suffixes beginning with k or n, and this rule applies to dissyllables also. Now one would suppose on a priori grounds that the invariable accent on the first syllable is not original, but has replaced some older and less simple system, just as the variable accentuation of Russian is older than the stereotyped system of Polish. Even in modern Finnish I doubt if the rule that every word is accented on the first syllable is really true. An educated Finn will always maintain that in a word like revitään the main accent is on the first syllable, but to my ear it appears to be distinctly on the last (-tään), indeed, it is hard to see how this long syllable could be pronounced without an accent. What is undoubtedly true is that no syllables are slurred over as in Russian and English. There is, as far as I know, no historical proof that some of the suffixes were accented in Finnish; but it is highly probable on general grounds and explains many phenomena presented by both vowel and consonantal changes. For instance, the termination of the first infinitive, ta (representing an original tak or takse), when added to the stem tule, produces tulla, which is quite natural if the original form was tuletá, as the light vowel would drop out before the accented syllable; similarly syöksenén becomes syösnen for syöksnen. Sometimes a whole syllable is omitted, e.g. alenetá becomes aleta. For some reason the e is generally not omitted if it is preceded by k, p, v, or m. This is not an absolute rule, as one finds forms like tointa (st. toime), nähdä, tehdä (st. nähe, teke), but it is hard to see why if tule-tá becomes tulla, luketá should not become luhda. The length of the first vowel has nothing to do with the matter, as nouse makes nousta. A and ä occasionally disappear in much the same way. Thus vieras stands for vierasa, löynnyt, tiennyt are formed from löytä, tietä; and superlatives regularly lose final a; suurin, for suurimpa.

The rules for the changes of consonants fall into three main groups. Firstly only n, r, s, or t are admitted as finals and only a few simple combinations occur in the middle of words. When the loss of a vowel produces groups which are euphonically disagreeable, they are simplified; veitstä, kolmant, suurimp, säkenöitstä become veistä, kolmas, suurin, säkenöitä.

The second group of changes concerns the letters t, k, s, h. The group ti has always a tendency to become si in syllables which never had the accent. The letter h, which is suspected of never being original when a medial, represents t, k, and s. S between two vowels immediately before a termination always becomes h. Vierasa makes in the nominative vieras, a being lost owing to the accent being on the first syllable. But the genitive vierasan becomes vierahan, and in the ordinary language this is contracted to vieraan. So too t becomes h under similar circumstances, perhaps having passed through s. The nominatives kevät, terve, and vene appear to represent stems kevätä, tervete, and venete (for the partitives are kevättä, tervettä, venettä) and form the genitives kevähän, venehen, tervehen. The same change appears in the declension of past participles ending in -nyt or -nut. Again, kt before a termination which was presumably once accented becomes ht—a combination of which the language is very fond. Thus the roots, haakte, ykte, kakte produce such forms as haahden, yhtä, kahtena, in all of which the first syllable was probably not accented. But in the nominative the first syllable was accented and the words became first haakti, ykti, kakti (rule 15), and then haaksi, yksi, kaksi (rule 37).

The third rule is the most important and singular. It requires the softening in some way of the three hard consonants k, t, p, when they occur at the beginning of a short open syllable which becomes closed. It is stated in detail on pp. 13, 14, 15. These conventional rules are of great practical utility, for they are of almost universal application and can be used with perfect certainty in building up the most complicated forms. On the other hand, if one tries to explain them, they remain unique and mysterious, if considered only in reference to the closed syllable. Now there is one exception to their action: the addition of the pronominal suffixes produces no change in the consonants of a noun. But there are a good many cases where consonants are softened without the syllable being closed. Some of these cases (e.g. infinitives and negative verbs) are justly treated as closed syllables because a final consonant has been lost. But (1) we find forms like auringoita, palkinnoita from aurinko, palkinto; (2) many forms seem to waver between p and v, e.g. pi or vi in the 3rd sing. of verbs; pa or va in the participle.

In Esthonian, where an almost identical rule is found, it is obvious that in the present state of the language at any rate the theory of the closed syllable does not apply at all.

It has been already seen that, though there is no actual proof that terminations in Finnish received the accent, the supposition that they once did so is not only agreeable to analogy, but explains many phenomena in the phonetics of the language. On this principle the rule about the closed syllable might be restated in the form that when a syllable received the accent, owing to the addition of a suffix[1], the consonant at the beginning of that syllable was weakened. Thus aúrinko remains with nk, aurinkón becomes auringon, but aurinkoná remains. The pronominal suffixes produce no change, because they are merely enclitic pronouns and have no accent. Auringoita can be easily explained by the tendency to accent a syllable containing a formative element and a diphthong. The advantage of this explanation of the weakening as due to change of accent is that, if true, it enables us to compare the phenomena presented by Finnish with laws accepted as prevailing in other languages, particularly with what is known in Teutonic philology as Werner’s law affecting non-initial soft spirants. By this law when χ, þ, f, s close the syllable bearing the chief accent they remain; in all other cases they pass into the corresponding sonants ȝ, ð, ƀ, z. Thus an original wórþe produces warþ, but an original (we)wurþmé produces wurðúm.

All Finnish accidence is concerned with the addition of suffixes to roots, subject to the above rules for the change of vowels and consonants. In the present state of the language these roots are mostly dissyllabic, though there are also plenty of monosyllables. There is reason to believe, however, that these dissyllabic roots are mostly the result of the combination of a monosyllable with very primitive suffixes, and it is probable that the original roots were of the form consonant + the vowel a + consonant. The root was differentiated in various ways by changing a to o, u, i, e, etc., by raising it to a diphthong or long vowel, or by altering the consonants within certain limits. Examples of this development of roots are contained in Donner’s Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Finno-Ugrischen Sprachen.

Finnish, like all the cognate languages, has no distinctions of gender. It possesses two numbers, the singular and plural, all traces of the dual which exists in Ostiak and Vogul having been lost. Three elements are used to form the plural—t, i, and loi. Of these t is found only in the nominative and genitive plural, in which latter case it appears variously as tt, d, or, like the t of the partitive and infinitive, is omitted. This suffix appears also in Esthonian (as d), Mordvinian, and Ostiak (tl). Vogul, Syrjenian, and Cheremissian have quite different suffixes, while Lappish and Hungarian employ the letter k, apparently identical with the g which characterises the dual in Ostiak and Vogul. It has been suggested that as k cannot be a final in Finnish, it has been changed to t; but Mordvinian, which has no objection to final k, also has t as a plural sign. The vowel i is used in all the cases except the nominative and genitive to mark the plural, being inserted immediately before the case termination. It is similarly used in Esthonian and Lappish, and there are traces of it in Hungarian. It has been explained as representing k weakened to j. In the Kalevala and many dialects (e.g. that of Savo) a suffix loi is found before the plural termination, chiefly in the partitive, essive, and translative: mahti-loi-ta, pilvi-löi-ksi, tähti-löi-nä. It is never found in the nominative, nor, for euphonic reasons, in the cases which otherwise contain l. The i is evidently the ordinary plural sign, and as pata + i + na becomes patoina, it is probable that this loi represents la + i. Ostiak has a suffix tl in the plural (but this appears to represent simple t), Cheremissian adds vlja or vila, and in Samoyede la appears to be used indifferently with t as a plural sign. The syllable la is used in Finnish to denote a place: e.g. setälä, uncle’s house, from setä, and lo is a diminutive termination. Possibly these forms should be treated as diminutives, but the analogy with Samoyede is curious. It is noticeable that according to our ideas the plural is not used very strictly; thus the numerals take a singular noun, the partitive when signifying many people likewise takes a singular verb; the verb on is used with the nominative plural, and in poems, proverbs, etc., a plural noun has as often as not a singular verb. On the other hand, the plural is often used where there seems to be no real idea of plurality. For instance, we find expressions like olla kylmillä, to be in the cold; omin luvin, of one’s own accord. The instructive, prolative, and comitative are generally used in the plural, even when one definite person is described, and there is no distinction between the singular and plural suffixes for the third person. Now, in some languages which appear to present the least developed type of the agglutinative principle, as for instance Manchu, the plural is not regularly distinguished from the singular, and though Finnish has advanced enormously beyond this stage, it appears to have developed a less acute sense of number than the Aryan languages. It is therefore very possible that some of the plural suffixes were in their origin not strictly plural. The t might thus be identical with that of the determinate accusative of pronouns (minut, etc.) and with the t or te, which characterises the definite declension in Mordvinian. Possibly the k of the other languages of the group may be connected with the suffixes -kko, -kkaha, which have an idea of quantity.

Nearly all the cases had originally a local meaning. On pp. 131-133 will be found some account of their relation to one another, and the development of their significations. As is there shown, there are three groups of cases which more or less correspond, the so-called interior and exterior groups, and another composed of the partitive, the essive, and the translative. These latter have simple suffixes, ta, na, and ksi. In the other groups another element is added to the suffix, in the interior cases s (supposed to represent sisä), and in the exterior l (supposed to represent luo). The terminations of the inessive (ssa), the elative (sta), the adessive (lla), and the ablative (lta) clearly stand for s + na, s + ta, l + na, l + ta. The combination n + ta is also used sporadically (p. 23) to form a case analogous to the elative and ablative. The relation of the three cases indicative of motion to is, however, less obvious. The termination of the translative is ksi (or kse), that of the illative sen or h-n (with the vowel of the previous syllable between the two consonants), and that of the allative -lle, sometimes pronounced llen. Now, Finnish contains clear traces of a dative in -ne or -nek (pp. 24 and 128). The illative shows a suffix -sen, but dialects give forms which represent he-sen or se-sen (which are supported by the analogy of other languages), which may be explained as the characteristic of the internal cases plus a case termination. The allative -lle(n) may therefore be explained as l + hen, though it can equally well represent l + ne. The termination sen, which is weakened to h-n, or merely n preceded by a long vowel, is perhaps for ksen, for the termination of the translative has a great tendency to be weakened and even disappear (alas, ulos, taa, ty’ö, 1st infinitives, etc.). We thus get three groups exactly corresponding: (1) na, ta, kse; (2) s + na, s + ta, s + ksen; (3) l + na, l + ta, l + kse.

The prolative, ending in -tse, is not often used and is perhaps identical with the termination -ten, found in some adverbs (täten, miten, siten, etc.). The caritive has regularly the termination -tta, but in adverbs this sinks to -ti (ääneti, huoleti). Dialectically are found tak, tah, and ta, and a comparison of the cognate languages leaves no doubt that taka or taχa was the original form. It is quite clear that this ending is closely connected with the caritive adjectival suffix -ttoma, which has much the same form in all the cognate languages, except Ostiak, where it is wanting. In Mordvinian we have vtomo or ftïma, and in Lappish täbme or tebme. Otherwise the suffix seems to represent an original tama. Perhaps the f or v of Mordvinian may represent some element (e.g. k) added to the stem before the suffix, which has produced in Finnish tt. The termination of the abessive has been explained as the word taka, back. But if this is so, what becomes of the caritive adjective, which shows no trace of this syllable ka? The conclusion that the element denoting absence or negation is ta—perhaps with some other consonant before it—seems inevitable. Ta is used to denote motion from (the original meaning of the partitive), and the connection between this idea and absence is not impossible.

There remain several cases characterised by the letter n, with or without a vowel. We have (1) a genitive, with the termination n in the singular, and taking t as well in the plural; (2) an accusative, found only in the singular and identical in form with the genitive; (3) an instructive identical in the singular with the genitive, but without the element t in the plural; (4) a comitative, formed with the syllable ne. This last may be explained as a local case, related to the syllable na of the essive or locative as the ta of the 1st infinitive is to the te of the second. The instructive termination is probably in reality the same as that of the genitive. It does not seem unnatural that a case denoting relation should be used adverbially to denote the manner in which an action is performed. The case is used chiefly in the plural, in which it does not take the element t, doubtless to distinguish it from the genitive. The genitive seems either to have or to have had the termination n in all the Finno-Ugric languages. It is noticeable that it is strictly a case representing relation, and does not denote origin. Its regular place is before the word which depends on it. It is probably akin to the dative ending in -ne. The accusative ending in n plays only a very small part in Finnish, as it is never used except to denote the total object in the singular of a finite verb. The partial object (p. 126) is always in the partitive, whether singular or plural; the total object plural is in the nominative, and the total object singular of an imperative or impersonal (so-called passive) verb is also in the nominative. Usage with regard to the object of an infinitive is fluctuating, but the primitive rule seems to be that it was in the partitive or nominative. It would seem that when the agent is not defined (imperative, passive, infinitive) the simple nominative was regarded as sufficient, as there could be no confusion between the subject and object. But when the subject is expressed by a word or termination, it was felt necessary to emphasise the object by some termination. T in the plural was apparently enough, but in the singular we find n, which might be identified with the suffix of the genitive, but for the fact that Ostiak, Cheremissian, and Vogul have m or me, and Lappish m, b, p, or w pointing to an original m.

There is also a termination t occurring in the accusatives of the personal pronouns in Finnish, and found also in Hungarian, Mordvinian, and Syrjenian, which marks the determinate accusative. This is perhaps identical with the t of the plural. The nominative, as such, has no termination. In the plural it has the simple plural sign t; in the singular it is identical with the root, unless altered (as is often the case) by purely phonetic laws.

The Finnish adjective is not distinguished from the noun, but it presents this peculiarity that contrary to the usage of the cognate languages it agrees with its substantive in number and case. This is probably due to Aryan influences, and has on the whole been a misfortune, for as soon as it is possible to construct sentences in which the connection of adjectives and substantives, far removed from one another in place, can be indicated by similar terminations, it is inevitable that authors should construct complicated phrases of the German or Greek type, which so much disfigure contemporary Finnish literature.

Finnish possesses a comparative and superlative, both having the termination mpa, the comparative being distinguished by the addition of the letter i before this suffix. This i might possibly be identified with that which marks the oblique cases of the plural, on the supposition that it is a determinative element which gradually acquired a plural signification in nouns. The comparative ending is also found in the pronouns jompi, kumpi, and molempi. Though the present numerals of the Finno-Ugric languages are based on a decimal system, it is clear that the original base was seven. For in all the languages the numbers from one to seven are obviously identical, whereas the words for eight, nine, ten are different. Finnish, with the Baltic dialects, and Mordvinian, represents ten by kymmenen, kümme, or kemen; Lappish, Cheremissian, and Vogulian give lokke (or loγe), lu, lau, which signify simply number (Finn. luku). Ostiak has jon, which recalls the Turkish on and Yakut uon, but which has also been explained as ljon (= luku). Cheremissian has das, which looks as if it had been borrowed from the Russian десять, though this explanation can hardly be extended to the Magyar tiz. The numbers eight and nine clearly contain in most of the languages the numbers two and one, so that they must mean ten minus two, and ten minus one, but the element denoting ten is not clear: Finnish, kahdehsan, yhdeksän; Lappish, kaktse, aktse (kuekte, two; akte, one); Syrjenian kökja-mi̱s, ök-mi̱s (ki̱k, two; ötik, one); Mordvinian, kafksa, vehksa (kafta, two; ifkä, one); Cheremissian, kändeχsje, indeχsje (kok, two; ik-tä, one). The Magyar, Ostiak, and Vogul for eight (nyole, njigedlaχ, njålå-lu) seems related, but not the words for nine. The word for a hundred is the same in all the languages.

The personal pronouns are declined almost exactly like nouns. Minä, sinä, hän appear to represent original forms mi-nä, ti-nä, sä-nä (? for tä-nä). The oblique cases in the singular of the 1st and 2nd person are formed either from the stems minu and sinu (which have been adopted by the literary language), or mu, su. The plural stems are me, te, he, apparently strengthened forms of mi, ti, hi, which take i in the oblique cases, but which (like the demonstrative pronouns) do not take t in the nominative.

The genitive of the personal pronoun is supplied by the pronominal affixes, which are added to nouns. They are for the singular ni, si, nsa; for the plural mme, nne, nsa. The 1st person singular ni is difficult to explain, for the pronominal root is mi. Probably final m was changed to n (cf. the verbs), and the i was a later addition. So too the 2nd person singular varies between si and s. It is clear that in the 3rd singular and all the persons of the plural an element, perhaps the n of the genitive, is added to the noun, so that nsa, mme, nne stand for n-sa, n-me, n-te. It is noticeable, however, that in Ostiak and Vogul the 2nd person is distinguished by the element n, and not t, in all three numbers: sing. nen, nän; plur. nen, nan; dual nin. These suffixes are added to the declined noun, after the case termination, whereas in Hungarian the case terminations are added after the pronominal affix. In Cheremissian either combination seems possible. It is a remarkable fact that when the pronominal affixes cause a syllable to be closed, the initial consonant of that syllable is not weakened as in other cases. Tapa + mme and tapa + nsa do not become tavamme, tavansa, but tapamme, tapansa. The explanation of this is very easy if the principles suggested above are correct. The pronominal affixes are enclitics, and hence tápa-nsa does not change its accent, while tapa-lla becomes tavá-lla. But what is much more curious is that while the simple genitive singular and nominative plural are tavan and tavat, the same cases with suffixes appear as tapamme or tapansa. If these forms are not due to analogy they must be explained on a principle which seems to prevail in Finnish, that it is unnecessary to add more than one suffix defining the relations of words, unless there is a question of local position. Thus in the plural the sign of number is considered a sufficient mark both of the nominative and accusative.

The other pronouns call for little comment, but it is noticeable that the relative pronouns and adverbs are fully developed, so that, although many phrases which we should render by temporal and relative clauses are expressed by infinitives and participles (as in Turkish), they can also be expressed by sentences like those of Aryan languages. All the Finno-Ugric languages show an attempt to differentiate the verb from the noun, which is least successful in the Eastern languages, and most fully realized in Finnish. Yet here one can at once discard a mass of forms—the so-called infinitives and participles—which are simple substantives. Their use is explained on pp. 184-202. The infinitives are formed with two suffixes, ta and ma. The first appears in the 1st infinitive as ta, da, or a, and in the 2nd infinitive, in a weakened form, as te, de, or e. The second suffix ma appears in the 3rd infinitive in its proper form, and as a diminutive in the fourth and fifth infinitives, of which the latter is used only in one case. The present participle, active and passive, is formed by adding va, a common adjectival termination, to the simple or to the passive stem. The past participle active is formed by adding -nehe (nom. nut or nyt) to the stem (cf. such nominal stems as venehe, boat; puhehe, conversation), while the past participle passive is a simple noun with the suffix u or y, and identical with such forms as luku, itku, maksu (p. 45), except that it has the t which characterises the passive.

Setting aside these forms we have the finite verb, which shows two distinct formations, indicating two separate modes of thought. The 1st and 2nd persons singular and plural take suffixes obviously identical in origin with the pronominal affixes, while the 3rd person, singular and plural, is a simple predicate. The affixes for the verb are 1st sing n, 2nd sing. t, 1st plur. mme, 2nd plur. tte. In as far as these are not absolutely the same as the suffixes added to nouns, they show an attempt to differentiate the verb, but n is clearly the same as -ni; t is a more original form of the 2nd singular, which was once ṭi, and mme is the same in nouns and verbs. The 2nd person plur. in nouns nne has been already explained as n-te; in the verb mme and tte perhaps represent k + me, k + te. Thus it is only in the 1st person plural that the nominal and verbal suffixes absolutely coincide. Toivomme means either we hope or our hope.

The formation of the 3rd persons is quite different. The plural termination is vat. In modern Finnish the singular, as a rule, takes no termination, but merely lengthens the final vowel, if not already long or a diphthong. But (as stated on pp. 62 and 63) the termination pi, which is found in monosyllabic verbs, and in the weakened form vi in others, is frequent in dialects, and used sometimes in the literary language. This suffix appears in all the Baltic dialects in the forms b, p for the singular, and vat, ba, va for the plural. In Lappish it does not occur in the 3rd person sing. or plur., but in the 1st person plural (p, be, or p), in the 2nd dual (bätte, ppe, bet, vette) and plural (bättet, ppet, bet, vetteð), and in the 3rd dual (ba, van, v). It also occurs sporadically in Cheremissian as the sign of the 3rd person. Now it is quite plain that the Finnish -va-t is the plural form of pi or vi. An analogy for final a sinking to i can be found in the nominative and comparatives (suurempi for suurempa), and it is therefore likely that the 3rd person singular and plural ended in pa and vat (p. 15). No doubt this pa or va is identical with the suffix of the present participle. In the plural indeed the two forms are absolutely identical even in the modern language: tuovat, antavat, tulevat are either the 3rd person plural present or nominative plural of the participle present. The 3rd person is thus simply a predicate, the verb substantive being, as often, omitted. Pa or va would thus be in its origin a suffix of the present: pi or vi does not appear in any of the other moods or tenses, but vat is the universal termination of the plural. Perhaps it was not original in any tense but the present, as Setälä quotes from old writers and dialects such forms as sanoit (sanoivat), näghitt (näkivät), olisit (olisivat), etc. But it must be remembered that the termination va has not a marked temporal signification, as it is used to form simple adjectives like lihava, fat; terävä, sharp. If then we regard saavat as a simple adjective from the root saa, denoting taking, there is no reason why saivat, saanevat, etc. should not be adjectives from sai, saane, which express modifications of that root. But this is a question of chronology, and it is more probable that when those stems were formed vat was accepted as a suffix of the 3rd plural. In Esthonian the va is sometimes added to the active past participle (tulnuva), and similar forms are quoted from Agricola. In modern Finnish the 3rd person singular generally ends simply in a long vowel, perhaps the remains of a diphthong ending in u, which occurs in some dialects.

Besides the personal terminations already discussed, we find in reflexive verbs (in some of which however the reflexive meaning is not very clear) me as the suffix of the 1st singular (annoime, luome, siirrime[2]), te for the 2nd person (weäite, seisotaite, tungeite), ksen, kse, ihe for the 3rd person. These latter forms are carefully discussed by Setälä (Suom. Ug. Seuran Aikakauskirja, No. II, 1887, p. 33 ff.), and he seems to prove satisfactorily that they represent k + sen, of which the first element is a present suffix, found also in the imperative and negative, and the second the pronoun of the 3rd person, found also in the optative, passive, and other forms. The terminations me and te might be explained as the original forms, seeing that the roots of the 1st and 2nd personal pronouns are probably mi and ti, but they are more likely to be due to false analogy, the real meaning of he (= sen) in the 3rd person having been forgotten.

We have thus for terminations indicative of person the following:—

Sing.

Plur.

1.

n (me )

m + me

2.

t (te )

t + te

3.

(a)

pi, vi , long vowel

vat or simple t .

(b)

sen, hen, se, he .

We have now to consider what are the other formative elements used in the Finnish verb, in doing which it is best to take first the finite affirmative conjugation, leaving aside the negative and passive forms. We may also leave aside the compound tenses which have doubtless arisen under foreign influences (cf. the Magyar forms).

We have seen that in nouns the possessive affixes n-sa, m-me, n-ne pointed to the fact that another element besides the strictly pronominal affix was added to the stem. The mme and tte of the plural verb are also best explained as k + me, k + te. This k occurs in many other verbal forms, and is of rather uncertain meaning, but apparently originally used in the present tense. It occurs in most of the cognate languages, particularly Lappish. The moods and tenses of the Finnish verb are very simple. The indicative has but two simple tenses (as in most of the cognate languages), a durative, which answers to both our present and future, and an aorist. There are three other moods, the potential or concessive, which represents an action as possible but not actual, the conditional, and the imperative, with which the optative may be taken to form one tense.

The present indicative adds the personal endings direct to the stem; the other forms add some element between the stem and terminations, which are the same as in the present (n, t, mme, tte, vat), except that the 3rd singular never takes pi or vi.

The past tense (generally called imperfect) is formed by adding the vowel i to the stem, which generally causes euphonic changes. Saa, to receive; sain, I received; anta, to give; annoin, I gave; tule, to come; tulin, I came. This suffix is used in Lappish in the forms je, ie, i, and traces of it occur in Magyar, Mordvinian, Cheremissian, Syrjenian, and Vogul. Ostiak is peculiar in using the simple stem for the past, and adding de to mark the present. The suffix i or je is perhaps the same as ja used to form nouns expressing the agent (e.g. kalastaja, a fisherman). Another termination used extensively in all the Baltic dialects is -si. This is quite regular in verbs whose root ends in ta, for lupat(a)i becomes naturally lupasi, and pyyt(ä)i pyysi (v. p. 16 for detailed rules). But in Esthonian and the South Western dialect of Finnish this termination is added to a great many words which have no t in the stem. E.g. Esthonian: stem palu, pres. palun, pret. palusin; stem pühki, pres. pühin, pret. pühkizin. These forms are perhaps the result of analogy, which was particularly easy on account of the contracted verbs. A comparison of the present lupaan (from which t has been lost) and the imperfect lupasin naturally suggests that si is the characteristic suffix of the latter. On the other hand, Mordvinian, Cheremissian, Vogul, and some forms of Ostiak (as well as the Samoyede languages) all have s or š as a sign of the preterite, so that si may possibly contain another tense element distinct from i.

The concessive is characterised by the syllable ne, or sometimes no in dialects. A conjunctive formed with this element occurs in most of Baltic dialects, Cheremissian, Vogul, and Ostiak.

The conditional has in Finnish a double suffix i + si. The i is doubtless identical with that of the imperfect. The syllable si is no doubt for ksi, for the Esthonian conditional is regularly formed with this suffix. Palu, wiska, pühki, sȫ form paluksin, wiskaksin, pühiksin, sȫksin. Esthonian generally has this suffix without i, but the other Baltic dialects employ the Finnish form. Lappish also has a subjunctive showing the syllable kči, čči, or či, but the form is unknown in the Eastern languages. It is noticeable that both ne and se are found in dialects doubled (myysisin from myy, to sell; tullenen, for tulnenen, from tulla, to come), and also combined in the form neisi, which occurs several times in the Kalevala (e.g. xxiii. 219, 220. Tuosta sulho suuttuneisi Mies nuori nuristuneisi).

The imperative consists of a 2nd person singular, which in literary Finnish is merely the root in a closed form (anna, ota from anta, otta), but which in dialects is found ending in k (annak, otak, etc.), and of a 1st and 2nd plural ending in kaamme, kaatte (or kaa) in the literary language, though kama, kamme, katte are also found. A 3rd person singular in kaan also occurs, but rarely. The optative consists of a 2nd person singular ending in os, of a 3rd person singular in koon, and a 3rd person plural in koot. These forms have been generally explained as weakenings of suffixes kasa (kaha) and koso (koho), and as representing kasamme, kasatte, koso, koson, and kosot. It appears to me that the evidence brought forward by Setälä (p. 111 ff.) disproves this theory. He points out (1) that the forms kaha, koho never occur in those dialects which otherwise preserve h between vowels, e.g. in the illative and passive; (2) that the Eastern dialects change the kaa or kää of the imperative into koa, keä, which change never occurs when an h has been lost. Besides no particular explanation has ever been offered of the suffixes kasa, koso. The proper suffixes then of the imperative and optative are ka, ko, which are obviously related (cf. ne, dialect no, in the concessive). These suffixes appear in Esthonian as gā (dial) and gu, and a suffix ka, k, or traces of it, occurs not only in the Baltic languages, but in all the other members of the group. It seems to be identical with the k which appears in the negative conjugation and elsewhere, and which is the least definite in signification of suffixes merely indicating the verbal character of the root. Thus the 2nd person singular of the imperative is an elementary verbal form without a personal termination. The forms kaamme, kaatte have evidently added to this suffix the personal termination. The long vowel appears to be an invention of the modern literary dialect. In poetry and dialects we find the forms kämme, käme, and käte.

The termination os of the optative is doubtless for ko + s where s represents the 2nd person singular. In Kalevala xxxiii. 257-8 we find a form in kosi, Kun on kuollet kuolkosipa, kaotkosi kun kaonnet, cf. Kanteletar (p. 14, 2nd ed., 1884) Tehkös liito lintuseni. The 3rd person singular ending in koon is undoubtedly for kohon, where the second element represents the 3rd personal pronoun hän or sen. The assimilation of the vowel to the o of ko resembles the phenomena presented by the illative. The plural koot is similarly for kohot, where the second element represents het or set, that is the 3rd personal pronoun with the plural suffix. The terminations kaan and kaat, which occur dialectically, show similar formations with the ka of the imperative.

Besides the forms of the finite active verb discussed above, Finnish also possesses what is called a passive, but is no doubt really an impersonal verb, used in all the tenses but the imperative. From the root tuo come the present tuodahan, imperf. tuotahin, concessive tuotanehen, conditional tuotaisihin. But the root ending in a short vowel like repi makes revitähän, revittihin, revittänehen, revittäisihin. In all these forms the last element is obviously a termination h-n, which is vocalized analogously to the illative. This is probably the 3rd personal pronoun hän or sen. Besides this termination there is added to the root the element tta after a short vowel, and ta after a long one. This suffix is probably identical with the causal and transitive terminations ta, tta (p. 110). Thus the passive forms are really causal verbs used impersonally in the 3rd person singular.

It is noticeable that while the imperfects and other tenses are tuotihin, sanotihim, etc., the present has tuodahan, sanotahan, etc. This points to the syllable tta or ta having being closed originally by some element which has disappeared. Now the passive present in Esthonian is formed regularly with the syllable kse which is doubtless the present suffix k and the pronoun se. Thus the roots palu, wiska, and pühki form the passives palutakse, wizatakse, pühitakse corresponding very closely to an original Finnish sano + ta + k + sen which becomes sanota’hen and then sanotaan. Personal, neuter, or passive verbs are formed by the addition of the vowels u or y, with or without the addition of t, nt, or p (p. 111). Such verbs, however, are not counted as part of the regular conjugation, as they cannot be formed from all verbal stems.

On the same footing as these reflexive verbs stand the various derivative forms described p. 110 ff. Some of them—e.g. the causal suffixes—have so distinct a meaning and are used so frequently that they might almost be given among the regular forms of the verb; others are only added to comparatively few verbs and vary in their signification. Some of them are the same suffixes which occur in the regular conjugation; ksi, a frequentative or diminutive, is no doubt identical with the si of the conditional: ne, and perhaps the n of nta, is the suffix of the concessive; ele, or le, used in Finnish only to form frequentatives and diminutives, appears in Lappish as a sign of the subjunctive mood (Set. p. 158). It is thus clear that the verbal forms consist of a root (that is to say, a form which may be considered as a root for Finnish, without prejudice to the question how far it is absolutely primitive), to which are added certain formative affixes and a termination indicating person. Some of these formative affixes have been accepted as definitely indicating mood or tense, others have not been so accepted and have a vaguer signification. Thus anta + i + si + n is described as the 1st person singular of the conditional of anta, to give, isi being indicative of the mood, but käärämöittelee, which represents käärä + mä + i + tta + ele, is not regarded as having any modal or temporal suffix.

In Finnish, as in most of the cognate languages except Hungarian and Ostiak (where however there are traces of another system) there is no simple negative particle, and negation can only be expressed by means of the negative verb, en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät, which is prefixed to the closed form of the root. There is no doubt that this form has lost a final k, and is therefore identical with the second person singular of the imperative, and is the simplest verbal form. In the past, the past participle is used with the negative verb, and in the other moods the tense stem. The imperative and optative add ko to the stem and the negative particle is formed from the root äl or el which is obviously closely akin to such forms as ellen (p. 69) and perhaps is the negative root combined with the suffix le.

Although the common opinion about Finnish is that it is hopelessly unlike any European language, it must be admitted by all who have studied it that it represents a very close approximation to the Aryan type, due no doubt to the strong and consistent foreign influence to which it has been subjected. As is well known, the vocabulary is overrun with German or Scandinavian words, often the equivalents of the simplest ideas, which have been borrowed, not lately, but before the earliest period of which we have any record. In the structure of the language itself this approximation is not less striking. It manifests itself in two ways—negatively and positively. As for the first, Finnish has abandoned many constructions which are found in the other languages of the group, but which are unknown to Aryan grammar. Thus we find no traces of the object being incorporated with the verb, or of the verb taking possessive as well as predicative suffixes. On the other hand, the positive resemblances are very numerous. It cannot be denied that the declensions, whatever be their origin, are in their present form very similar to those of Latin and Greek. The case suffix forms a whole with the noun; it influences the vowels and consonants of the latter; the pronominal suffixes must be added after it, and not between it and the stem. The only difference between Finnish and Greek or Latin declension is that the former is much more regular and transparent in its character, though, even here, some cases, as the partitive singular and genitive plural, show considerable diversity. The adjective is fully declined, agrees with its substantive, and takes degrees of comparison. The verb is clearly distinguished from the noun, and the scanty supply of primitive tenses has been supplemented by a number of forms combined with the auxiliary verb after the analogy of German or Swedish. There are a great many infinitival and participial constructions, which recall the Turkish; but, on the other hand, the relative pronouns and particles are fully developed. On the whole, it may be fairly said that Finnish really presents no great differences from Aryan languages except in its euphonic laws, the use of the pronominal suffixes, the infinitives and participles, and some syntactical peculiarities. Compared with such a language as Ostiak (or even Magyar) it shows the clearest traces of foreign influence, and of non-Aryan material recast in a western and Aryan mould.

On the other hand, it must be remembered that agglutinative languages represent a stage through which Aryan languages have doubtless past. The real difference between the forms presented by Finnish, and those of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit, is that while the former has but a limited number of suffixes, and uses them regularly in the same sense, the latter had a superfluously rich store, and used sometimes one, sometimes another to express the same idea. Hence it is that we find different case endings for nouns, adjectives, and pronouns; and several ways of inflecting verbs and nouns.

The tendency to advance from the primitive forms and constructions of the Ugro-Altaic languages to a mode of expression more in harmony with western thought reaches its height in the modern literary Finnish. It is no reproach to this language to say that it is artificial. Nearly all modern languages have the same origin. Out of a mass of dialects one is selected by circumstances as representative, and becomes a language while the others remain dialects. A number of such dialects are spoken in Finland, and no doubt if any of them had received an independent literary development, it might have produced a language almost as different from written Finnish as is Esthonian. Neither can one be surprised at the number of newly invented words in Finnish. All the languages of modern Europe have borrowed the vocabulary of mediaeval Latin, either by taking the words as they found them, or by translating the component parts of them into equivalents supplied from their own grammar. English has generally adopted the former, German the latter method. Finnish has followed boldly in the same track, and endeavoured to find native equivalents for the chief modern ideas. It is perhaps presumptuous for a foreigner to judge whether the result is successful. One is inclined to think that the change has been a little too sudden. Finnish is an admirable vehicle for such poetry as the Kalevala or for simple narrative. It had not advanced at all beyond this state when it was used to represent the most complicated forms of European thought, and, as it still keeps its homely native character, the combination sometimes appears rather odd. Besides, as there is no authority to determine exactly what are the accepted phrases for the literary dialect, or the proper equivalents of foreign words, a good deal of confusion reigns, and even natives have occasionally some difficulty in understanding modern authors. It is a great pity that writers do not adopt a simpler style. As it is, they have chosen German models, and the combination of exceedingly involved phrases with manifold inflectional forms distinguished only by slight differences produces sentences which rival in difficulty ancient Greek, a language which was generally obscure except in the hand of a master. Yet though Finnish deserves its undesirable reputation of being the most difficult language spoken in Europe, except perhaps Basque, it seems to be an undoubted fact that the area over which it is spoken is being enlarged at the expense of Russian and Swedish.

The group of languages to which Finnish belongs is at present spoken by tribes scattered over the more northern parts of European Russia and immediately to the east of the Ural. In Siberia we have Ostiak, spoken by tribes about the river Obi (for the Ostiak of the Yenisei appears to be a different language), and Vogul, spoken by scattered tribes on either side of the Ural. With these languages is connected Magyar, though owing to foreign influences and its great literary development, comparable only to that of Finnish, it presents many peculiarities. Though both the grammar and vocabulary of these languages leave no doubt of their relation to the rest of the group, they differ from them in many points of detail. The case terminations present few resemblances; Vogul and Ostiak have a dual, and they all more or less employ constructions rejected by most of the other languages, such as the incorporation of the object in the verb, the distinction between predicative and possessive suffixes in the verb, etc. Also it is remarkable that they have not developed fully the peculiar negative constructions of Finnish and the more western languages.

East of the Voguls dwell a race called Syryenians or Zyrjenians (Russian Зыряне), whose head quarters are at the town of Ishma, on the Pechora; south of these again are the Votiaks, mostly in the government of Viatka. On the north bank of the Volga, to the west of Kazan, live the Cheremissians, speaking two dialects, some scattered settlements of whom are found further east, while to the south of these again, mostly about the rivers Oka and Sura, are numerous scattered settlements of Mordvinians, who have likewise two dialects. None of these are literary languages. Besides them we have Lappish, in three dialects spoken in the northern parts of Finland, Sweden, and Russia, and the various Baltic idioms, with Suomi or Finnish.

The relation of these languages to one another have been ably described in Dr. Donner’s work, ‘Die gegenseitige Verwandschaft der Finnish-Ugrischen Sprachen.’ He divides the whole group into two divisions, the first called Ugric, and comprising only Ostiak, Vogul, and Magyar; the second called Finnish, including all the other languages. This second or Finnish division is divided into two groups, the Permian and Volga-Baltic, the former including only the Syrjenians, Permians, and Votiaks, the latter again in two sub-divisions, the Volga group or Mordvinian and Cheremissian, and the West Finnish group including Lappish, Esthonian, and Finnish.

This classification may be represented thus in a table:—

Finno-Ugrian Languages

A. Ugrian.

1. Ostiak.

2. Vogul.

3. Magyar.

B. Finnish.

i. Permian

Syrjenians, Permians, Votiaks.

ii. Volga Baltic

a.  Volga group

Cheremissian, Mordvinian.

b.  West Finnish

1. Lappish.

2. Esthonian, Livish, Votish, Vepsish.

3. Finnish.

All these languages have a certain common vocabulary, and a common grammatical substratum, though many of them possess constructions unknown to the others. The pronouns, numerals, and in a less obvious degree the pronominal affixes of nouns and verbs are also identical. The Ugrian languages however, seem to have parted company with the rest before a system of declension had been fixed. Their nominal suffixes seem to be mostly later formations, though we find t, tl, or k for the plural, and traces of l as a local element. Corresponding phenomena appear in the conjugation of verbs, as noticed above.

The remaining languages—or Finnish group—have not developed any striking differences from the Ugric division, but they show greater resemblance to one another in details. They all have local cases characterised by the letter s (unknown in the Ugric group), others characterised by l, an abessive ending in ta or tak, and negative adjectives characterised by the syllable tem, or tom. They mostly agree in having a peculiar form for the negative conjugation. The present of the positive conjugation has p (or v) regularly or sporadically in certain persons, and the remaining verbal forms, though far from agreeing absolutely, show a sufficient resemblance to warrant us in regarding them as the results of a common development.

From the accounts given of Syrjenian and Votiak it would seem that they were the first to cease to participate in this common development. They appear to be characterised by few striking peculiarities, but to show a less degree of conformity to a common standard than the remaining languages. The phonetic system of Syrjenian seems to be much the same as that of Cheremissian or Mordvinian, except that it has a great fondness for the sound of i̱. The pronouns of both numbers, and the pronominal affixes of the singular, show much more resemblance to the Finnish than to the Ugrian, but the pronominal affixes of the plural (ni̱m, ni̱d, ni̱s) are curious, and obviously represent the singular affixes in combination with a syllable ni̱, which may perhaps be akin to the Finnish plural demonstrative ne. In the verb, the 1st person singular has no personal termination. In the plural we find m, ni̱d, ni̱s, as in nouns. Generally Syrjenian seems to be more thoroughly agglutinative, as opposed to inflected, than the Finnish language. In this it may be compared with Cheremissian, where the plural is formed by the syllable vlja (or vi̱lä) added between the stem and case termination, just like jas in Syrjenian. The Permian languages have some close analogies in detail with the Ugrian group. Thus twenty is ki̱s in Syrjenian, kōs or χūs in Ostiak, husz in Magyar; the reflexive pronoun is as or ats in Syrjenian and Votiak, at in Ostiak.

Of the remaining languages Mordvinian is in many ways the most remarkable. Though generally admitted to be nearly akin to Cheremissian, it has many constructions peculiar to itself. Thus it has a fully developed object conjugation and two forms of declension, the definite and indefinite. It has a great fondness for the letter f. On the other hand, such phenomena as the suffix n-za for the 3rd person, the word kemen, ten, the regular formation of the imperfect with i, infinitives in ma, and participles in f (Finn. va) show a near approach to Finnish. Cheremissian has also developed some new singular negative forms, by which the verbal root is negatived (in the preterite) by a suffix te + l, after which the personal suffixes are added.

The connection of the West Finnish languages is much more striking than that of those which have already been discussed. The resemblance of Lappish to Finnish and Esthonian is a little disguised owing to the elaborate phonetic system of this language, which has an extraordinary fondness for diphthongs, and also a very extensive provision of consonants, including some (e.g. γ, θ, δ) which do not occur in any of the cognate languages. The nominal declension is very similar to that of Finnish. Compare the singular forms tšalme, tšalmen, tšalmesn, tšalmest, tšalmetaka with silmä, silmänä, silmässä, silmästä, silmättä. In the singular the genitive and partitive have lost their termination (cf. the Esthonian forms, nom. silm, gen. and part. silma). The analogy in the plural is still closer; the nominative ends in h or k, but the other cases are characterised by the insertion of i, tšalmeh or tšalmek, tšalmiti, tšalmi, tšalmin, tšalmisne, tšalmist, tšalmitaγa corresponding to silmät, silmiä, sílmien, silminä, silmissä, silmistä, silmittä. There are also forms in l, le, lt, or ld. The partitive case appears to be peculiar to the West Finnish languages. The pronouns of Lappish point the other way, and are all but identical with those of Mordvinian, mon, ton or don, son, mi, ti or di, si; Mordvinian mon, son, ton, min, sin, tin. The singular affixes are m, d, s (Mordv. n, t, nza), but those of the plural take the characteristic k (mek, dek, sek). There are also dual forms. The verb is peculiar in using different affixes for the present and preterite. Otherwise it is much the same as the Finnish forms. We have b or p as a sign of the present, je or i for the preterite, ket, kus, etc. in the imperative; comparatives formed with fč-, kč-, č- (ksi), or le. The negative conjugation also shows close analogies. Lappish has thus a great resemblance to Finnish, but is much nearer than the remaining western languages to Cheremissian and Mordvinian, thus connecting these latter with Finnish and the Esthonian languages.

There is no need to insist on the close connection of Livish, Votish, Vepsish, and Esthonian with Finnish. The grammatical structure and vocabulary of these languages is so alike that the fact is obvious not only to a philologist, but to the most casual learner. Esthonian is now far the most important of these languages, and has a certain amount of literary culture. It has two chief dialects, that of Revel and that of Dorpat[3].

In a few cases Esthonian shows older forms than Finnish, but on the whole it is less primitive. Besides the Finnish consonants it possesses b, g, z, and ṅ. The accent is on the first syllable, and has led to weakening or loss of final syllables. The vowel harmony is known only in the Dorpat dialect, and there not perfectly. Consonants are weakened in much the same way as in Finnish, pp, tt, kk are reduced to single consonants; p, t, k, s become b, d, g, z; b becomes w or disappears, and d, g, z disappear. These changes, however, do not in the present state of the language take place only when syllables are closed, although the original form generally ended with a consonant. Thus tīb, urk, rind, toit, rid form the genitives tīwa, urga, rinna, toidu, riu; and the verbs pühkima, uskuma, prūkima, hoidma form pühin, uzun, prūgin, hoian. The noun has only eleven cases, the six local (exterior and interior) the genitive, partitive, abessive, and translative, all almost identical in form with Finnish, except that the genitive has lost the n of the termination, and the other cases the final vowel. The plural takes d in the nominative and i in the other cases. The pronouns resemble Finnish, but the 3rd person singular and plural is the demonstrative tema or nema in Esthonian, Livonian, and Votish, but Vepsish has hän, hö. Esthonian has almost lost the pronominal affixes, which are used only in adverbial forms, and replaced in most cases by the genitive of the personal pronoun.

The affirmative verb closely resembles Finnish, except that the concessive formed with ne has, except in the Dorpat dialect, been almost entirely lost. The 3rd person singular present ends regularly in b, and the 3rd plural in wad. The preterite is sometimes formed with simple i, but generally with si, and the conditional with ksi. The imperative 2nd singular has no termination, but as in Finnish the root is weakened. The other persons are characterised by gu or ge. The passive is formed by affixing ta + k + se in the present, and ta + i (ti) in the preterite. The negative verb for the imperative is ärä, ärgu, ärge, but in the other forms Esthonian does not affix personal endings to the negative, but uses ei with all persons. Similarly Livish has äb or ab for all persons except the second, where ad is sometimes used. Votish and Vepsish follow Finnish. It will thus be seen that Esthonian, closely allied as it is to Finnish, has lost many peculiarities which it once no doubt possessed, but occasionally (e.g. the passive present in takse and the conditional in kse) preserves forms which in Finnish have been weakened or disguised.

It is easier to discuss the relations of the Finno-Ugric languages to one another than to decide what are their affinities with other groups. They are generally considered to be connected with the Samoyede, Turkish, Mandchu, and Mongolian languages, that is to say, the ancestor of each of these groups was related to the ancestor of the Finno-Ugrian languages. When, however, identity of vocabulary cannot be proved, it is dangerous to make comparisons on the ground of general grammatical resemblances, because the grammar of agglutinative languages offers few striking peculiarities, and represents a stage of development through which may other languages, certainly the Aryan, have passed. The only general description which can be given of the Finno-Ugric group is that they are languages without gender, whose grammatical structure consists entirely in appending suffixes. To these characteristics is generally added another, the vowel harmony, but this exists very partially in the Finnish group. Now without denying the possible relationship of Turkish, Mongol, and Mandchu to Finnish, it must be admitted that they have only a very general resemblance, and very many and precise differences. Mandchu and Mongol, with their uninflected verbs, would have been put into quite another class were they not undoubtedly akin to languages with a more developed system. And why should Japanese be excluded? It presents no phenomena incongruous with the grammar of the languages above cited, and the want of vowel harmony cannot be alleged as a difficulty.

If, however, we turn to the Samoyede languages the case is very different. They are usually mentioned as if they stood no nearer to the Finno-Ugric group than Turkish or Mandchu, and yet the resemblances in detail are numerous and striking.

They possess the vowel harmony, and apparently a law for the weakening of consonants analogous to that of Finnish and Esthonian, e.g. kinta, kindan; mat, maden; sok, sogon. The noun is strikingly like Finnish. We find a genitive in n, an accusative in m or p (cf. Lappish), a dative in ni or n, a locative in nan (cf. Finnish na), and an instrumental in se. There are three numbers, the dual is characterised by g or hā (cf. gen. in Ostiak, ag in Vogul), and the plural is formed with la or t (d). The pronouns show a good deal of variety, and it is evident that some forms (e.g. pudar, thou; puda, he) are not real pronouns but substantives used as pronouns. Still we find a general consensus for man as the 1st person singular, and some form of the same word for the plural; tan for the second singular, and te, ten, or ši for the plural (cf. Lappish, Cheremissian, Syrjenian, and Mordvinian). The 3rd person exists in several forms, tep, sete, di, etc., which may perhaps be compared with the Ostiak ten, Cheremissian tidä, and Syrjenian si̱a. The pronominal affixes are also extraordinarily numerous and varied, but they seem to include m for the 1st singular, t or d for the 2nd, jea (cf. Magyar ja) for the 3rd; mu or met for the 1st plural, and ta or tet for the 2nd. The interrogative pronouns are kutö, hübea, hoke, etc., who, and ma, mi, what. The verb and noun are not sharply distinguished. The verb takes two sets of pronominal suffixes, the predicative, with which an intransitive verb is always conjugated, and the possessive, which are used with both transitive and intransitive verbs. The preterite is formed by adding s, which occurs as a preterite suffix in Cheremissian, Mordvinian, Vogul, and Ostiak. The conjunctive is formed with nji, ne, na (cf. the Finnish ne). The imperative is formed with the syllable kar, gar, har (cf. Finnish ka). There is also an optative with the suffix rava, so perhaps kar is ka-ra.

Besides this similarity of grammatical forms there is a large common vocabulary. The following examples are taken at haphazard out of Castren’s lexicon:—River, jaha, joha (Finn. joki); hill, pirda (Finn. vuori); dark, paebi, paevuda (pimeä); to blow, pu’u (puhua); half, pealea, fealla (puoli); good, sava, sova (hyvä); fire, tu (tuli); fish, kole, hale (kala); tree, po, pe, pea (puu); bear, korg, kuerg (karhu); earth, mon (maa); narrow, small, tîjea (tyhjä, empty); to place, puenan (panna); live, jileadm (eleä); come, tû’am, töak (tulla)[4].

On the other hand, the Samoyede languages differ in many ways from the Ugro-Altaic group. The numbers are entirely different. The Ostiak Samoyede ōker, one, shows a faint resemblance to yhte, and sidea, or sede, two, has been compared with kahte, but such analogies are doubtful. Only the number seven, sin, sjelde, sjaibua shows a resemblance with the Finno-Ugric forms. But it is clear that the Samoyede numbers represent very primitive attempts at numeration (e.g. Jurak. hâsava-ju, Samoyede big number, for nine, lutsa-ju, Russian big number for ten), and that in many cases Turkish numbers have been borrowed (cf. tjet, tet, four, with Yakut tüört and kamass, khera 40, iliχ 50, althon 60, with Turkish kirk, elli, altmish). Samoyede is also more like the Turkish than the Finno-Ugric language in its power of adding predicative and temporal suffixes to nouns (which implies a want of distinction between the verb and noun). Thus lūtsa means a Russian; lūtsam, I am a Russian; lūtsamsʻ, I was a Russian.

The above sketch of Samoyede has no pretence to be exhaustive, and may be charged with inaccuracy, inasmuch as words and forms are cited indifferently from all the dialects. For a proper investigation of the question it is no doubt necessary to thoroughly study the relations of the Samoyede languages to one another, to establish the original forms, and in particular to determine the influence of foreign languages, whether Turkish or Finno-Ugric, on the Samoyede vocabulary. But unless there is something strangely misleading in the superficial character of these dialects, it appears to me that they undoubtedly stand far nearer to Finno-Ugric than do Turkish or Mongolian, and should indeed be classed as outlying members of the Finno-Ugric group. The want of similarity in the numbers is certainly very strange, but the other resemblances in vocabulary seem to me to be conclusive, unless all the words in question are borrowed.

A FINNISH GRAMMAR.

The Finnish Alphabet consists of 21 letters, viz.: a, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v (or w), y, ä, ö.

German characters are sometimes used, in which case w always represents the v sound. In the Roman character v and w are used indifferently to express the sound of the English v.

The pronunciation of the consonants offers little difficulty. Most of them have the same sounds as in English.

D. In true Finnish words this letter is never found at the beginning or end, and in the middle always represents a softened t (vide changes of consonants p. 13). Even in this position it is hardly ever heard in the language as spoken by peasants, but replaced in the West Finnish dialect by a sound between r and l, and in the Eastern dialect entirely omitted. Educated people, however, pronounce it as in English. Thus the educated pronunciation of the genitive case of sota is sodan; but in dialects the forms soran, solan, or soan are found. The letter d is always omitted in the Kalevala, which is written in the Karelian dialect.

G, except in a few foreign words, is only found in the combination ng, representing an original nk, pronounced as in English. In the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg this letter is never used, k taking its place.

H is a stronger aspirate than in English, and is almost the Russian x or German ch. It is heard very distinctly at the end of syllables, e.g. in tehdä.

J is the English y in yes or yard.

The remaining letters of the Roman Alphabet b, c, f, q, x, z, and the Swedish å (pronounced o) are sometimes met with in foreign words, but an uneducated Finn will always pronounce b and f as p and v, and is also incapable of producing such sounds as the English ch and sh, which when occurring in Russian names are generally represented in a Finnish mouth by simple s.

There is also a slight aspiration found at the end of some words, as veneʻ, a boat, syödäʻ, to eat. It is not usually written, and hardly heard except in some dialects, though it has a grammatical importance, and in some educational works is marked, as above, by an inverted comma.

It will be seen that there is a great paucity of consonants in the Finnish language; the alphabet contains but 13, and of these g and d are never found at the beginning of native words. Further no word can begin with two consonants, and foreign words, commencing with such combinations, always lose one or more letters, for instance the Swedish words strand (shore), and spel (game), appear as ranta, peli.

On the other hand there is an extraordinary wealth of vowel sounds, and it is of capital importance to learn the exact pronunciation of them all.

The simple sounds are eight in number.

A is the Italian a (English a in rather or father), but pronounced quicker. It is always short.

E is the English e in met.

I is the English i in bit.

O is the English o in hot.

U is the English u in bull.

Y is the German ü in über.

Ä, which must be carefully distinguished from A, is the short English a heard in hat, or trap, and must not be pronounced as the English a in late. Thus hän, he, is pronounced exactly like hand without the final d. At the end of words (e.g. työtä) ä is more difficult for an Englishman to pronounce, as the sound is not found in English as a final.

Ö is like the French eu.

It is very important to observe that the simple vowels are all short sounds. The corresponding long sounds are written by doubling the vowel.

Aa is a long Italian a, like the a in rather, whereas the sound of simple a is shorter than that which we (generally) give to the vowel in this word.

Ee is like the English a in pale, late.

Ii is the English ee in keen, three.

Oo is the English o in hope.

Uu is the English oo in boot.

Yy is the German ü, pronounced long.

Ää is the a in had, but long. It is a rather difficult sound, but can be obtained by lingering over the vowel of had or man, taking care not to change its quality.

Öö is the sound of the simple ö lengthened.

Besides these simple and double vowels there are also 16 diphthongs, in which both vowels should be sounded but so rapidly and continuously as to form one syllable. They may be divided into two classes.

(1) Those in which the stress is on the second vowel. uo, yö, ie, e.g. tuo, this, tie, a way, yö, night.

(2) Those in which the stress is on the first vowel. Of these there are—

(a) Four ending in u. au, ou, iu, eu. Kauppa, sale, koulu, school, hiukka, a grain, leuka, chin.

(b) Two ending in y: äy, öy. Väylä, river bed, höyhen, feather.

(c) Seven ending in i: ai, oi, ui, ei, äi, öi, yi. E.g. nai, he married, koi, a moth, pui, he threshed, vei, he led, päivä, day, löi, he struck, myi, he sold.

These diphthongs, with the exception of those ending in i, are found only in the first syllable of words, otherwise the two vowels form two syllables: e.g. tapa-us, not tapa͡us, kope-us, not kope͡us, but talko͡issa, pape͡illa.

The pronunciation of these diphthongs offers no difficulties when that of the simple vowels has been mastered. It must be remembered that they are real diphthongs where both vowels sounds are heard, but pronounced rapidly, so that au, though very near the ow in the English how, is not quite like it. The pronunciation of äy and öy requires attention, but is, like that of all the diphthongs, merely the result of pronouncing the simple vowels rapidly.

The chief accent in Finnish is always on the first syllable of every word. Tálo, mínä, párempi, kívettä.

There is a secondary accent, generally on the third, fifth, ... syllables, but occasionally on the fourth, sixth, ... e.g. op-pi-mát-to-múu-des-sán-sa (in his ability to learn).

But ó-pet-ta-mát-to-múu-des-sán-sa (in his ignorance).

But in no case is the second or last syllable accented, so that such sounds as howéver, deláy, are impossible.

The pronunciation of Finnish is generally described as easy, but this is by no means the case. It is true that the language contains no sound which is really difficult for an Englishman, but on the other hand extreme care is necessary to pronounce even the simplest words correctly. For instance, in the word menemme (we come), three things are to be observed. The accent is on the first syllable, the n is single and not double, and the m is doubled. An Englishman, who has not learned how to pronounce, will in all probability say not menemme, but menneme. This is because he finds it natural to double the n after the accented syllable and hard to double the m, without accenting the second syllable. It must be observed, that:—

(1) The simple consonants are pronounced very lightly; tuli, fire, nearly rhymes to the English fully, but the l is lighter.

(2) The double consonants must be pronounced distinctly twice, as in Italian. Kuk-ka, flower, kyl-lä, enough, pap-pi, priest.

(3) The simple vowels are very short, the long vowels are to be dwelt on, but the length of a vowel has nothing to do with the accent. Púhuu must not be pronounced as if it were Puhúu, or puúhu.

The observance of these rules is necessary, not only to insure a correct pronunciation, but to prevent absolute confusion, for the paucity of consonants in Finnish results in the existence of a mass of words, which though very distinct to a native, are liable to be confounded by a stranger, and the natural tendency of an Englishman or Russian to slur over unaccented syllables results in complete unintelligibility. For instance, tuli is a fire, or, he came, tulli, a tax, tulla, to come (infinitive), tule, come (imperative and root), tulee, he comes: tullee, the concessive of the same verb, tuuli, a wind, tuulla, to blow. Kylä is a village, but kyllä, enough. Pitää, to hold, pyytää, to ask, peittää, to cover, peite, a covering, pöytä, a table.

OF THE FORMATION OF SYLLABLES AND WORDS.

A syllable ending in a simple vowel or diphthong is called open: one ending in a consonant or the aspiration is called closed. E.g. I-sä, father, tuo-da, to bring, consist of open syllables: kis-sat, cats, kir-jat, books, of closed.

As already stated, a word cannot begin or end with more than one consonant.

If a double consonant occurs in the middle of a word the first letter must be pronounced with the preceding vowel and the second with the succeeding, e.g. pal-lo, not pall-o.

1. (1) At the end of the first syllable of a word two consonants are tolerated, provided the first be l, r, n, or m, and the second k, t, p, or s. Pilk-ku, a spot, kent-tä, a field, simp-sukka, pearl: otherwise one of the consonants must be rejected.

2. (2) At the end of the second or succeeding syllables may stand only one consonant, and every word must end with a vowel or one of the consonants n, r, s, t, l (rare), or the aspiration.

If the grammatical changes cause an agglomeration of consonants which does not come under these rules, the consonants must be simplified or changed; syöks-tä becomes syöstä: avaim (for avaime) becomes avain.

One of the most characteristic features of the Finnish language is what is called the Harmony of the vowels. Besides the division of the vowels according to length, there is another by which they are classified according to their quality as follows:—

Hard

a, o, u .

Soft

ä, ö, y .

Neutral

e, i .

Long vowels and diphthongs belong to the same class as their component elements, which can never be discordant, that is to say, ay or äu are impossible combinations.

The first syllable of a word may contain any of these vowels. The formation of the remaining syllables is determined by the following rules:—

(1) If the first syllable contains a hard vowel, the vowels in the other syllables must be either hard or neutral, but not soft, Kala, a fish: ablative, kalalta. Ansaita, to deserve, ansaitsevat, they deserve.

(2) If the vowel in the first syllable is soft, then the vowels of all the other syllables must be soft or neutral, but not hard. Tölli, a cottage, töllissä, in the cottage; kätkein, käkeittäköön.

(3) If the vowel in the first syllable is neutral, two cases occur.

(a) If the vowel of the second syllable is hard, as in the word vieras, the succeeding vowels must be either hard or neutral: vierahaksi (transitive case).

(b) If the vowel of the second syllable is either soft or neutral, all the other vowels must be soft or neutral, but not hard. Retki, a journey, partitive case, retki-ä; sirppi, sickle, sirppiä.

It will thus be seen that there are two forms of every termination in Finnish, one containing hard and the other a soft vowel. Thus the ablative ends in -lta or -ltä: maa, maalta, but työ, työltä.

The hard and soft vowels are never found coexisting in any simple Finnish word, but there is no objection to such a compound as kirkko-väki, kirkko-isä.

This principle of vowel harmony is really extremely natural, and facilitates pronunciation, as will be seen by the example of French. An Englishman pronouncing such combinations as voulu, or du tout has, if not accustomed to the language, a tendency to say voulou, du tut, making the two vowels the same, because the sudden change in the position of the pronouncing organs required to say u or ou, or vice versa, is a matter of some difficulty. It is the consciousness of this difficulty which has led Finnish and other languages to adopt the rule that the vowels of a word must be of the same character, so that no rude change may be necessary for their pronunciation.

This vowel harmony is not found in all the Finno-Ugric languages. In its fully developed form it exists (v. Dr. Donner, die gegenseitige Verwandschaft der Finnish-ugrischen Sprachen, p. 9) only in Finnish, the Dorpat dialect of Esthonian, Hungarian, one dialect of Tcheremissian and one of Vogulian. In many others of these languages it is found in an incomplete form, whence some think that it is an original characteristic of the Finno-Ugric group, which has been lost by some tribes whose phonetic sense was not keen. Some authorities hold that in the Finno-Ugric language there are two kinds of vowel harmony: firstly, that prevailing between the different syllables of a stem, which is characteristic of all the tongues included in this group, and secondly that which assimilates the vowels of suffixes to those of the stem—i.e. that which obliges us to say repinyt and not repinut. This latter species of vowel harmony is not primitive, but has been gradually developed, perfectly in Finnish and Hungarian, and imperfectly in the other languages. This view seems very reasonable.

CHANGES OF SOUNDS.

All Finnish words consist of a root to which certain suffixes have been attached, but the addition of these latter often causes certain changes in the final vowel and consonants of the original root. In order to inflect words correctly it is necessary to know these changes.

A. Changes of Vowels.

I. THE LONG VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS.

3. The long vowels are always shortened when followed by i, that is to say, the vowel is written once and not twice. Thus maa, earth, which takes an i in all the cases in the plural except the nominative, forms maita, maitten, maiksi, etc., not maaita; puu, tree, puita, puiden, puiksi.

4. The diphthongs with the accent on the second vowel, uo, yö, ie, when followed by i, reject the first vowel, and thus form a new diphthong—työ, work, becomes in the plural töistä, töissä, töiksi, etc.; vien, I lead, vein (vie-in), I led; luo, he creates, loisi (luo-isi), he would create.

5. Diphthongs ending in i reject this i if another i follows, uin, I swim, uin (for ui-in), I swam.

In the root käy, to go, y is changed into v before a vowel—e.g. käy-in becomes kävin.

II. SHORT VOWELS.

The simple vowels o, ö, u, y are invariable, but a, ä, e, i are subject to certain changes in the last syllable of a root.

A. Ä.

When the vowels A and Ä at the end of a root are followed by the i characteristic of the imperfect tense, or plural, they undergo the following changes:—

6. (1) Ä is always rejected in disyllables—e.g. heitän, I throw, heitin, I threw.

7. (2) A at the end of disyllabic roots is rejected before i, if the vowel of the first syllable is o, u, uu, ou, uo, oi, or ui: but is changed into o if that vowel is a, e, i, aa, ii, ai, au, ei, eu, ie, or iu. Thus ottavat, they take, past ottivat (for ottaivat); nuora, a cord, nuorilla, with cords; tupa, a hut, tuvissa, in huts. But on the other hand, kala, a fish, kaloiksi; annan, I give, annoin, I gave; kannan, I carry, kannoin, I carried.[5]

Disyllabic verbs, where the final a is preceded by t, can change it into o, but generally reject it, ahtoi or ahti: kaartoi or kaarti.

8. Derivatives of verbs in ma, ja, va, always reject the a: sanova, sanovia; ottaja, ottajia; puhuva, puhuvia.

9. (3) Polysyllabic verbs always reject a and ä in the imperfect. Odotan, I wait, odotin, I waited, etc. The rejection also takes place in polysyllabic substantives ending in -mpa, -mpä, and derivatives in va, vä, sa, sä, and those where h or any vowel but i precedes the final a, e.g. vanhempa, vanhemmille; sanova, sanovina; vieraha, vierahille; kapea, kapeita. But should the final a be preceded by two consonants, or the penultimate syllable contain the vowel i, a and ä become respectively o and ö; asia, a thing, asioissa; karitsa, a lamb, karitsoita; kynttilä, a candle, kynttilöitä, candles. But the words isäntä, emäntä always reject i, isännille, emännille.

10. (4) In cases which come under none of these heads, e.g. such a word as peruna, potatoe, a, ä can be either dropped or changed to o, ö, perunia or perunoita, partitive case plural.

11. (5) a and ä change to e before the comparative suffix -mpa in disyllabic words, and before the suffix ta, tta, of the passive. Vanha, old, comparative vanhempi; istutan, I plant, istutetaan, passive.

12. (6) The nominative sing. of superlatives (stem -impa), and of caritive adjectives (stem -toma), drops a: kovimpa becomes kovin (by rules 24, 46); and viattoma, innocent, viaton (46).

13. (7) a, ä become i in the nominative sing. of comparatives, stem kovempa, nominative kovempi.

E.

14. (1) E is always rejected before i. Kive-illä becomes kivillä, with stones; Mere-illä, Merillä.

15. (2) Dissyllables ending in e always change that vowel to i in the nominative singular. Stems, mere, sea, tuule, wind, nominatives, meri, tuuli.

The only important exceptions to this rule are the words itse, self, and kolme, three. Nukke, a doll, is also found, and sine, blue, is used as well as sini.

The stem miehe, man, makes mies in the nominative sing.

16. (3) Polysyllabic stems ending in e reject it in the nominative sing. Stem, sisare; nominative, sisar, a sister.

17. (4) The final e of a disyllabic stem disappears in nouns before terminations commencing with t, and in verbs before terminations beginning with k or n, provided that e is preceded by any simple consonant but k, p, v, m, or by a double consonant of which the last letter is t or s (except ht). Thus from the stem une (sleep), vuore (mountain), vete (water) (nominative, vesi), come the forms unta, vuorta, vettä, and from the verbal stems tule (come), mene (go), such forms as tulkaa, tullut (for tulnut), menkää. Lapse, a child, forms lasta, for lapsta; veitse, a knife, veistä for veitstä.

But e remains in the verbs potea, to fall ill, tuntea, to know, and in itse, self, suksi, snowshoe, sääksi, a gnat, ripsi, an eyelash, viiksi, a moustache, which form their partitives in itseä, suksea, etc.

18. But in disyllabic words e is not rejected if preceded by k, p, v, or m. Thus the stems joke, river, läpe, a hole, kive, stone, Suome, Finland, form their partitives jokea, läpeä, kiveä, Suomea.

19. Likewise e remains in disyllables where it is preceded by ht, or by any two consonants of which the last is not t or s: tähte, star, and lehte, leaf, form tähteä and lehteä. Onne, fortune, and hanhe, goose, onnea and hanhea.

But yksi, one, and kaksi, two (roots yhte and kahte), form yhtä and kahta for yhttä, kahtta. Lumi, snow, is also an exception and forms lunta. Also the verbal stems teke and näke: infinitive, tehdä, nähdä.

20. In polysyllabic words the e is always suppressed: root kysymykse, a question, partitive case, kysymystä for kysymykstä.

I.

21. (1) When i at the end of substantives meets the i of the plural, the first i changes into e, risti, cross, risteissä. This rule is however not always observed, and forms like ristissä are used for the plural. But in other cases, when two i’s meet, the first falls out, pres. etsivät, imp. etsivät, not etsiivät. In old Finnish, words like etseivät are found.

22. (2) When i (generally owing to the dropping of a consonant) is found between two vowels it becomes j. Kaloia becomes kaloja.

23. All these four vowels, a, ä, e, and i, are rejected before the -i of the terminations of the superlative: vanha, old, selkeä, bright, suure, great, auli, liberal, make in the superlative vanhin, selkein, suurin, aulin.

B. Changes of Consonants.

24. A word cannot end with more than one consonant. If the rejection of a final vowel leaves two consonants at the end of a word, one is rejected, usually the first, e.g. Lupaukse, a promise. By rule 16, e is rejected in the nominative sing., and there remains lupauks, which becomes lupaus. But if the second consonant is not one of those allowed to end a word by rule 2, it is rejected and the first only kept. Suurimpi becomes suurimp, and as p is not a possible final letter, m is kept, and by rule 46 (below) becomes n, suurin.

THE SOFTENING OF THE HARD CONSONANTS K, T, P.

General rule: Whenever one of the three hard consonants, k, t, p, is found at the beginning of a naturally short and open syllable (that is, one ending in a simple vowel) which becomes closed (that is, ends in a consonant) owing to the addition of a suffix, then the hard consonant is softened or rejected[6].

It must be observed that some syllables which are apparently open are treated in grammar as being closed, because they end with the aspiration. This aspiration, though hardly heard except in dialects, generally represents an original consonant (v. the rules respecting the formation of the Imperative, Infinitives I and II, and passive).

This curious rule of the softening of consonants pervades the whole Finnish language and is one of its distinguishing features. The addition of a final letter to a syllable necessitates a certain effort in order to sound it accurately, and in order to compensate for the difficulty thus added at the end the pronunciation of the first letter is made easier. It is indeed clear that it is easier to say kukan than kukkan, if both k’s are carefully pronounced; but an English mouth does not find it easier to say revin than repin. But it must be remembered that the Finnish language is extraordinarily susceptible in regard to consonants. Mouths which are incapable of pronouncing two consonants at the beginning of a word must have to struggle with difficulties in pronunciation which we are quite incapable of understanding. It must also be remembered that simple consonants are pronounced exceedingly lightly, so that their disappearance is easier than it would be, were they sounded as strongly as in our language.

K.

25. (1) kk becomes k. That is to say, when the final syllable of kukka, flower, becomes closed by the addition of n, one of the k’s is dropped, and we have kukan for kukkan. So kirkko, kirkossa.

26. (2) nk becomes ng. Aurinko, sun, forms the genitive auringon. Kaupunki, town, kaupungin.

27. (3) lk, rk become simply l, r, but if followed by e, lj, rj. For example, jalka, a foot, genitive jalan; märkä, wet, genitive märän; kulke, leave, kuljen, I leave; särke, break, särjen, I break.

hk generally becomes simply h, but may remain unchanged; tuhka, ash, genitive tuhan, but sometimes tuhkan; sähkö, electricity, genitive sähön. In old Finnish such forms as tuhvan are found.

28. (4) Between two vowels k generally is lost altogether when the syllable is closed; tako, forge, taon, I forge; vika, a fault, genitive vian.

If the k is preceded by a diphthong ending in i or by simple i, a j is developed when k falls out: thus aika, time, poika, boy, ikä, life, make ajan, pojan, ijän. Similarly when k falls out between two u’s or two y’s, a v is developed, at any rate in pronunciation. The orthography varies between uu and uvu, but the latter is generally adopted when there is any ambiguity, e.g. puvun, from puku, clothes, not puun, because this is liable to be confused with puun, the genitive of puu, a tree; suvun from suku, a family; but suun from sun, a month; luvun from luku, a number, but luun from luu, a bone.

29. (5) sk, tk remain unchanged, lasku, laskun, itku, itkun.

T.

30. (1) tt becomes t, opetta, teach, opetan, I teach.

31. (2) lt, rt, nt become ll, rr, nn. Pelto, field, pellon; parta, beard, parran; kanta, base, kannan.

32. (3) After a vowel or h, t becomes d. Pata, pot, padan; tahto, wish, tahdon[7].

P.

33. (1) pp becomes p. Pappi, priest, papin.

34. (2) mp becomes mm, stem kovempa, harder, kovemman.

35. (3) In other cases p becomes v. Lepo, rest, levon; repi, tear, revin; halpa, cheap, halvan.

36. N.B.—This softening of k, t, p, takes place if in a polysyllabic radical one of them is the first letter of a syllable whose vowel forms a diphthong with the i of the plural. Harakka, magpie, harakoita; aurinko, auringoita, sun; palkinto, palkinnoita, reward.

These rules for the weakening of consonants are rigorously observed throughout the language, with the one exception that the addition of the pronominal suffixes produces no change in a word. Though tapa + n becomes tavan, tapa + nsa remains tapansa.

OTHER CHANGES OF CONSONANTS.

T, meeting with the vowel i, under certain circumstances becomes s.

37. T in the last syllable of a word, when preceded by a vowel or by l, n, r, becomes s when a final e is rejected or changed into i. E.g. in the nominative of the root vete, water, the final e becomes i by rule, and t changes to s, forming vesi. Similarly when the final e of hyvyyte, goodness, is rejected t becomes s, forming the nominative hyvyys; so also jälte becomes jälsi, and varte, varsi.

38. T also becomes s before i in the plural of ordinal numbers whose stem ends in -nte. E.g. the essive singular of stem neljänte, fourth, is neljäntenä; in the plural the corresponding case is neljänsinä, for neljäntinä.

39. The plural of stems ending in -ute, -yte, forms the essive and other analogous cases from a stem ending in -ksi. Suuruus, greatness, has for the sing. the stem suuruute (e.g. essive suuruutena), but forms in the plur. suuruuksina, etc. So also from hyvyyte, goodness, comes from the sing. hyvyytenä, and the plur. hyvyyksinä.

40. T in the last syllable of a verb, preceded by a double vowel or l, n, r, changes to s before the i of the imperf., the vowels a, ä being suppressed. Thus from pyytää, to ask, comes pyysi (for pyytäi); from taitaa, can, taisi. But pitää, to hold, makes piti, because this vowel is simple.

Nousee, he arises, forms the imperfect nousi, but noutaa, he brings, makes nouti, to distinguish it from the other. Similarly kyntää, to plough, generally forms its imperfect kynti, to distinguish it from the same tense of kynsiä, to scratch.

In poetry forms like kielti, for kielsi, are found, and in the ordinary language a number of verbs which should by the above rule form the imperfect in si, either keep ti, as hoiti (hoitaa, to look after), jouti (joutaa, to have time), or have alternative forms, hääti or hääsi (häätää, to keep off), sääti or sääsi (säätää, to place), kiiti or kiisi (from kiitää, to hasten), hyyti or hyysi (hyytää, to freeze), syyti or syysi (syytää, throw out), sieti or siesi (sietää, to bear), jäyti or jäysi (jäytää, to gnaw).

T always becomes s in the imperfect of contracted verbs, lupata, to promise, pres. lupaan, impf. lupasin.

The combination ts is pronounced in dialects as tt or ht; e.g. metsä, a forest, appears as mettä or mehtä.

41. K before t, d, n becomes h. E.g. from the root teke, whose final vowel is liable to be rejected, come tehtiin, tehdään, tehnen, and also tehkää.

42. But h before s becomes k. Thus the stems yhte, one, kahte, two, haahte, a ship, form the nominatives yksi, kaksi, haaksi, te becoming si by the rules previously given, and h changing to k.

43. In contracted words (v. page 18) h, when left as a final letter, becomes s, t, or the aspiration. Stem vieraha, nominative vieras, for vierah; stem kevähä, nominative kevät, for kevähä; stem venehe, nominative veneʻ, for venehe.

Though the above rules are given as being convenient for grammatical purposes, there is no doubt that in all these cases h is a weakening of some other letter; indeed, there is reason to think it is never original in Finnish. Vieras represents an original vierasa, and the genitive vierasan is weakened into vierahan and vieraan. Similarly in yksi, yhden, the k is more primitive.

44. N, after l, n, s, is frequently, though not always, assimilated, especially in verbs. Thus tul-nut, pur-nut, pes-nyt, become tullut, purrut, pessyt.

45. In polysyllabic verbs n becomes t before k and t. Thus root pakene makes in the imperative paetkaa (for pakenkaa, which becomes first paketkaa) and infinitive paeta. (The steps are pakenetaʻ, pakentaʻ, pakettaʻ, paettaʻ, paeta.)

46. M, at the end of a word, always becomes n. Stem avaime, a key, nominative avain, for avaim. Similar is the formation of the nominatives of superlatives: kovimpi becomes kovimp by rejection of the final vowel, and then kovim (rule 24), which changes to kovin.

47. M also becomes n before terminations beginning with t or n. Thus the stem rahattoma, moneyless, shortened to rahatom, makes rahatonta and rahatonna in the partitive and essive cases.

CONTRACTION.

When two vowels are found together from the loss of a consonant or other causes, they frequently become a long vowel or a diphthong. This phenomenon is called Contraction, and occurs frequently in Finnish. It can, like the loss of final vowels, be easily accounted for on phonetic grounds, if it be remembered that the tonic accent of a word is always on the first syllable, so that there is a natural tendency to drop or pronounce quickly syllables at the end of words.

This contraction is of two kinds:—

48. I. The first kind takes place when the vowels of the two final syllables of a word are the same, and the consonant between them (h in nouns or t in verbs) falls out. Thus, vierahan becomes viera͡an (two syllables); lupatan, lupa͡an; tervehen, terve͡en.

This form of contraction is universally employed in certain classes of nouns and verbs, the uncontracted forms being only found in poetry and the Karelian dialect.

49. II. The second kind is when the vowels of the last and penultimate syllables of a word meet, the last vowel being a or ä. Under these circumstances the assimilation of the second vowel to the first, and contraction of the two into one long vowel is admissible, but not obligatory, though it usually takes place if the first vowel is o, e, or ö. Thus lankean (I fall), kokoan (I collect), become lankeen, kokoon. But the contraction of ia or ua to ii, uu is rare.

Forms like silee, ainoo for sileä, ainoa are found in poetry. In prose this form of contraction is confined to verbs.

The contraction of two vowels into one long vowel or diphthong also occurs in adding the case suffixes:—

(1) The a or ä of the partitive sing. with the final vowel of roots ending in a or ä forms a long vowel, e.g. jalka-a, leipä-ä become jalka͡a, leipä͡ä.

(2) When the e of a termination becomes i after the final vowel of a root, this i forms a diphthong with that vowel, e.g. korvaen becomes korva͡in; and when the i of the plural meets with the final vowel of a root it forms a diphthong with it.

The point in all these cases is that, though no change takes place in writing, the two vowels form one syllable instead of two.

Vowels which meet from the disappearance of k are often contracted in pronunciation: te͡en, nä͡in from teken, näkin, are pronounced as one syllable.

NOUNS.

Finnish is called an agglutinative language; that is to say, the words, as they appear used in a sentence, are formed of roots, to which have been added certain terminations: thus taloiltansa, meaning from his farms, is made up from the root talo, and the suffixes i (a sign of the plural), -lta (giving the idea of from), and -nsa (his).

Every root in Finnish ends in a vowel or a diphthong.

In adding suffixes to a root the rules for the changes of letters must be carefully observed. The result of applying them is that from the original full root there may be produced three modifications:—

(1) The closed form. Root vete, water, closed form veden.

(2) The shortened form, paimen for paimene.

(3) A form both closed and shortened. tantere, nominative tanner.

Declension.

The Finnish noun is declined by adding suffixes to the root, which undergoes any modifications required by the rules of Euphony.

There are fifteen cases, which, with the exception of the nominative, may be regarded as the noun followed by a preposition, or rather postposition. The Finnish word maalta corresponds to the English from land, only the from is put after land, and the two are written as one word. maalta is analogous to such an expression as the Greek γῆς ἀπό, only that in this case we have both a case-form and a postposition. Most of the terminations have two forms, one with a hard, one with a soft vowel. Roots with hard vowels take the hard termination, those with soft, the soft ones. Thus we find maa-ssa, but työ-ssä.

These fifteen cases are as follow:—

(1) The nominative has no suffix, though it does not always represent the pure root. In maa, land, the two are identical, but the roots käte, vete, vieraha produce the nominatives käsi, vesi, vieras.

(2) The partitive is formed by the suffix ta, tä or a, ä. It may be roughly described as answering to a noun preceded in English by the word some, or in French by the partitive article. Leipää, some bread, du pain; vettä, some water, de l’eau.

(3) The genitive is formed by the suffix n. Puun, of the tree.

The Finnish genitive really represents two cases, the genitive and accusative, which have become confused in one form.

(4) The inessive expresses the place, in which anything takes place, and is formed with the suffix -ssa, -ssä. Missä, where (in what); kirkossa, in the church.

(5) The elative expresses the place from which motion takes place, and is formed with the suffix -sta, -stä. Mistä, whence (from what); kirkosta, from the church; talosta, from the farm.

(6) The illative is formed by adding to the root the consonants h—n, between which is inserted the last vowel of the root, or, if it ends in a diphthong, the second vowel in that diphthong. Talo, talohon; metsä, metsähän; työ, työhön. Generally the termination is shortened by the omission of h, and we have forms like taloon, metsään. It expresses the place into which motion takes place.

(7) The adessive is formed with the suffix -lla, -llä, and signifies the place on which, or the object with which, anything is done. Lattialla, on the floor; kädellä, with the hand.

(8) The ablative is formed with the suffix -lta, -ltä, and expresses motion from. Maalta, from the land; pöydältä, from the table.

(9) The allative expresses motion towards, and is formed with the suffix -lle. Pellolle, to the field; rannalle, to the shore.

(10) The abessive is formed with the suffix -tta. It expresses the absence of something; rahatta, without money.

(11) The prolative is formed by adding the syllable -tse, and expresses motion along; talotse, along the farm. In modern Finnish it is rarely used in the singular. Maitse, meritse, by land, by sea.

(12) The translative is formed with the suffix -ksi. It generally is used to express some change in the form of existence. Hän tuli sotamieheksi, he became a soldier.

(13) Whereas the essive, formed by adding -na or -nä to the root, expresses a state of being regarded as continuous. Lapsena, as a child.

(14) The comitative is formed with the syllable -ne, and is generally used in the plural, and with a possessive affix. Lapsine (or oftener lapsinensa), with his children.

(15) The instructive is formed by simply adding the letter n to a root, and expresses the means by which anything is done. Käsin, with the hands. The singular of the instructive is only used in poetry.

There are two numbers in Finnish, the singular and plural. For the singular, the suffixes are added directly to the root: to form the plural other letters are also added.

A. The nominative plural is formed by adding t to the root, e.g. root and nominative sing. maa, nominative plur. maat; root and nominative sing. pata, nominative plur. (by rule 31) padat; root vieraha, nominative sing. vieras, nominative plur. vierahat; root vete, nominative sing. vesi, nominative plur. vedet.

B. The other cases, with the exceptions below mentioned, simply add i to the root, which suffers the necessary phonetic changes, and then take the same suffixes as the sing. Maa, inessive sing. maassa, inessive plur. maissa (3); pata, illative sing. patahan or pataan, illative plur. patoihin (7); vieraha, translative sing. vierahaksi or vieraaksi, translative plur. vierahiksi or vieraiksi (11).

C. But the genitive plural is formed with the suffix -ite (apparently a combination of the two suffixes i and t(e) above mentioned), placed before the case suffix -n.

This suffix is found in three forms:—

(1) ite + n becomes regularly -iden, maiden.

(2) Monosyllabic roots and polysyllabic roots ending with a long vowel have a strengthened form, -itte-n, often found alternating with -ide-n, e.g. maitten, vierahitten.

(3) The t drops out and the suffix becomes simply -ie-n, e.g. jalka-iten becomes (rule 7) jalko-iten, then jalko-ien, then (rule 21) jalkojen; äiti-iten becomes äititen, and then äitien. Sometimes the i or j drops out between two vowels; e.g. kirkkoen.

Most of the cases above enumerated are common to nearly all the Finno-Ugric languages, though the same suffixes are used with rather different meanings.

The suffix -na, called here essive, is used in most other languages of the family as a locative, and a few traces of this use are preserved in Finnish, e.g. kotona, at home, ulkona, out of doors, (olla) läsnä, to be present, takana, behind, tänä pänä, tänään, to-day.

No accusative is usually given in Finnish grammars, because this case coincides with the genitive in the sing., and with the nominative in the plural. The accusative sing. is, however, etymologically a distinct formation, with the termination m or ma, as is proved by a comparison of the other languages of the family (Ostiak and Vogulian ma, me, or m; Tcheremissian and Syrjenian m). As m cannot be a final in Finnish, it becomes n, and the case is indistinguishable from the genitive.

There is also an accusative in -t, found in the pronominal declensions of Finnish, Ostiak, Syrjenian, and Mordvinian. It is supposed to represent the demonstrative pronoun ta suffixed to a word, and perhaps stands for -nt.

Another case which occurs sporadically, though not usually given in grammars, is the Excessive, ending in -nta. This termination is much used in the dialect spoken about St. Petersburg, and is even employed by some writers. It expresses departure either from a place or a state; e.g. kotonta, from home; hän jäi palvelijanta, he gave up being a servant. Hän muutti paimenenta rengiksi, he became a farm-labourer instead of a shepherd. It is also found in some adverbial forms, e.g. siintä, luonta, takanta.

Another sporadic case is an allative or dative ending in -nne, -ne, or -n. Its original form seems to have been -nek, for in the Savo-dialect we find tuonnek, tännek instead of the ordinary tuonne, tänne, thither, hither. In written Finnish this termination is only used in a few adverbs, as sinne, thither, muuanne, to another place. Alle, päälle, and ylle are also apparently for al-ne, pääl-ne, yl-ne. In the expression Jumalan kiitos, thanks be to God, Jumalan appears to be really this case, and similar strange uses of an apparent genitive in old writings are no doubt to be explained the same way.

It will be observed that the local cases are arranged in two sets of three, one characterised by the presence of s, the other by that of l.

We have:—

Inessive s-sa (for s-na )

Adessive l-la (for l-na )

Elative s-ta

Ablative l-ta

Illative sen or h-n .

Allative l-le (for l-len )

The Essive in na and Excessive in n-ta are parts of a similar set.

The case called adessive (-lla) is also used as an instrumental, and probably represents two original cases.

The primitive form of the abessive appears to have been taka or taha, which is considered by some as identical with the word taka, back. Besides the regular termination in -tta, the forms -ta and -t are found in dialects, and -ti in some adverbs; ääneti, silently; huoleti, carelessly. Closely connected with the abessive are the caritive adjectives ending in -ttoma.

The prolative, though generally counted as one of the regular cases, is really very seldom employed, and cannot be formed from the majority of nouns.

The plur. inflection of the Finno-Ugric languages, gives three suffixes, t, k, and i, of which t and i are found in Finnish. It has been suggested that the t and k are really identical, k not being allowable as a final letter. It is not improbable that i may be the remains of a k weakened to j (cf. 26, 27).

There are no genders in Finnish.

The simplest way of dividing the declensions is by the form of the Partitive case.

The first declension has the partitive ending in ta or tä, after a long vowel or diphthong.

The second has the partitive ending in a or ä, after a short vowel.

The third has the partitive in ta or tä, after a consonant.

The First Declension.

This declension includes all words ending in a long vowel or a diphthong.

It has the following characteristics:—

(1) The partitive sing. has the suffix ta or tä, after a long vowel or diphthong.

(2) The nominative sing. is the same as the root.

(3) No change of consonants takes place in the root.

(4) The genitive plur. is found ending in -iden or -itten, before which the last vowel of the root is rejected by rule 3 or 4.

(5) Monosyllabic roots form the illative in h—n, the last vowel of the root being between the two consonants: täi, täihin; jää, jäähän. But dissyllables ending in a long vowel, e.g. harmaa, ehtoo, have the illative sing. in -sen and the illative plur. in -sin or -hin. Sing. harmaasen, plur. harmaisin or harmaihin.

Example of a noun of first declension with a hard vowel. Puu, a tree:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

puu

puut

Part.

puuta

puita

Gen.

puun

puiden or puitten

In.

puussa

puissa

El.

puusta

puista

Il.

puuhun

puihin

Ad.

puulla

puilla

Abl.

puulta

puilta

All.

puulle

puille

Abes.

puutta

puitta

Prol.

[puutse ]

puitse

Transl.

puuksi

puiksi

Ess.

puuna

puina

Com.

(puune )

puine

Instr.

(puun )

puin

There is nothing to be remarked on the declension of this word, except that in the plur. the diphthong uu is shortened to u before the vowel i; puissa, etc., and not puuissa.

The declension of a noun with a soft vowel, e.g. työ, work, is exactly analogous, except that the suffixes have the soft forms -ssä, -stä, etc.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

työ

työt

Part.

työtä

töitä

Gen.

työn

töitten, or töiden

In.

työssä

töissä

El.

työstä

töistä

Il.

työhön

töihin

Ad.

työllä

töillä

Abl.

työltä

töiltä

All.

työlle

töille

Abes.

työttä

töittä

Prol.

[työtse ]

töitse

Transl.

työksi

töiksi

Ess.

työnä

töinä

Com.

[työne ]

töine

Instr.

[työn ]

töin

According to rule 4 before the i of the plural the vowel y is rejected from the diphthong yö. So suo, yö, tie form in the plural soissa, öillä, tein.

The Second Declension.

The second declension has the following characteristics:—

(1) The partitive sing. ends in -a or -ä (-ta, -tä) after a short vowel. (Polysyllables have often -ta, -tä.)

(2) The nominative has the same number of vowels as the root, and generally preserves those vowels unaltered except that the final a or ä of comparatives and final e become i.

(3) The illative sing. ends in the last vowel of the root doubled with n suffixed; kirkkoon, not kirkohon.

(4) The genitive plur. generally ends in -jen or -en, as described above. In the ordinary language this -en is further weakened to -in after the vowel of the root, unless that vowel is itself i.

(5) Hard consonants at the beginning of the last syllable are of course softened by rules 24-35, when the syllable becomes closed.

This declension comprises—

A. Roots ending in the vowels o, ö, u, y, which never change.

Example:—Aurinko, the sun.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

aurinko

auringot

Part.

aurinkoa

aurinkoja, auringoita

Gen.

auringon

aurinkoen, aurinkoin

aurinkojen or auringoiden

In.

auringossa

auringoissa

El.

auringosta

auringoista

Il.

aurinkoon

aurinkoihin

Ad.

auringolla

auringoilla

Abl.

auringolta

auringoilta

All.

auringolle

auringoille

Abes.

auringotta

auringoitta

Prol.

[auringotse ]

auringoitse

Transl.

auringoksi

auringoiksi

Ess.

aurinkona

aurinkoina

Com.

[aurinkone ]

aurinkoine

Instr.

[auringon ]

auringoin

Here in the majority of cases the k is weakened to g, because the syllable which it commences becomes closed containing a single vowel or a diphthong formed by that vowel with the i of the plural; but the k remains in such places as the illative, where the syllables remain open. The original form of the genitive plur. would be aurinkoiten. This is weakened to auringoiden. Then the d dropping out we have aurinkojen, aurinkoen, or aurinkoin.

Luettu (past participle), meaning read, is thus declined:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

luettu

luetut

Part.

luettua

luettuja or luetulta

Gen.

luetun

luetuitten, luituiden

luettujen or luettuin

In.

luetussa

luetuissa

El.

luetusta

luetuista

Il.

luettuun

luettuihin

Ad.

luetulla

luetuilla

Abl.

luetulta

luetuilta

All.

luetulle

luetuille

Abes.

luetutta

luetuitta

Prol.

——

——

Transl.

luetuksi

luetuiksi

Ess.

luettuna

luettuina

Com.

——

——

Instr.

——

——

Here tt is weakened to t when the syllable becomes closed (rule 30), and the partitive and genitive plur. either take or reject t.

The declension of words with soft vowels is precisely similar, except that the suffixes have soft vowels. Eläimistö, animal kingdom, lyöty, struck.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

eläimistö

eläimistöt

Part.

eläimistöä

eläimistöjä

Gen.

eläimistön

eläimistöjen

eläimistöen

eläimistöin

In.

eläimistössä

eläimistöissä

El.

eläimistöstä

eläimistöistä

Il.

eläimistöön

eläimistöihin

Ad.

eläimistöllä

eläimistöillä

Abl.

eläimistöltä

eläimistöiltä

All.

eläimistölle

eläimistöille

Abes.

eläimistöttä

eläimistöittä

Transl.

eläimistöksi

eläimistöiksi

Ess.

eläimistönä

eläimistöinä

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

lyöty

lyödyt

Part.

lyötyä

lyötyjä

Gen.

lyödyn

lyötyjen

lyötyen

lyötyin

In.

lyödyssä

lyödyissä

El.

lyödystä

lyödyistä

Il.

lyötyyn

lyötyihin

Ad.

lyödyllä

lyödyillä

Abl.

lyödyltä

lyödyiltä

All.

lyödylle

lyödyille

Abes.

lyödyttä

lyödyittä

Transl.

lyödyksi

lyödyiksi

Ess.

lyötynä

lyötyinä

Here the t of lyöty is weakened when the syllable is closed, but the t of eläimistö remains, being preceded by s and consequently unchangeable.

B. All roots ending in a, ä, except superlatives for adjectives, e.g. pata, a pot. In this declension the final a frequently becomes o in the plural by rule 7. Dissyllabic words reject t in the partitive both sing. and plur., and in the genitive plur.; but polysyllabic words optionally preserve it in these cases.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

pata

padat

Part.

pataa

patoja

Gen.

padan

patojen, [pataen]

patain

In.

padassa

padoissa

El.

padasta

padoista

Il.

pataan

patoihin

Ad.

padalla

padoilla

Abl.

padalta

padoilta

All.

padalle

padoille

Abes.

padatta

padoitta

Prol.

[padatse ]

padoitse

Transl.

padaksi

padoiksi

Ess.

patana

patoina

Com.

[patane ]

patoine

Instr.

[padan ]

padoin

Such words as sota, war, korva, the ear, do not change the final a to o in the plural.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

sota

sodat ( 30)

Part.

sotaa

sotia

Gen.

sodan

sotain or sotien

In.

sodassa

sodissa

Il.

sotaan

sotiin

etc.

etc.

Polysyllabic nouns are declined as follows:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

korkea

korkeat

Part.

korkeata

korkeaa

korkeita

korkeoita

Gen.

korkean

korkeiden (-eoiden)

korkeitten (-eoitten )

In.

korkeassa

korkeissa

Il.

korkeaan

korkeihin

etc.

etc.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

harakka

harakat ( 25)

Part.

harakkata

harakkaa

harakoita

harakkoja

Gen.

harakan

harakoiden

harakoitten, harakkojen

In.

harakassa

harakoissa

Ill.

harakkaan

harakkoihin

etc.

etc.

Similarly, Isäntä, a father of a family, makes isäntää, isännän (t becoming n by rule 31), isännässä. This word in the plur. loses its final vowel, and does not change it to o. Isännät, isäntiä, isäntien (-äin), isännissä, etc.

Comparatives whose root ends in -mpa, -mpä, change the final vowel to i in the nominative sing.; e.g. parempa, better. Nominative parempi, partitive parempaa or parempata, genitive paremman (by rule 34), inessive paremmassa, etc. Plur. nominative paremmat, partitive parempia, genitive parempien, parempaen, or parempain, inessive paremmissa, illative parempiin, etc. All comparatives reject the final a before the i of the plural.

C. All roots ending in -i. The root of the plural ends in the diphthong ei or short i, e.g. kaupunki, a town.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

kaupunki

kaupungit

Part.

kaupunkia

[rarely kaupunkita ]

kaupunkeja or kaupungeita

or kaupunkia

Gen.

kaupungin

kaupungeiden, kaupunkein,

or kaupunkien

In.

kaupungissa

kaupungeissa

El.

kaupungista

kaupungeista

Il.

kaupunkiin

kaupunkeihin

Ad.

kaupungilla

kaupungeilla

Abl.

kaupungilta

kaupungeilta

All.

kaupungille

kaupungeille

Abes.

kaupungitta

kaupungeitta

Prol.

kaupungitse

kaupungeitse

Transl.

kaupungiksi

kaupungeiksi

Ess.

kaupunkina

kaupunkeina

Com.

[kaupunkine ]

kaupunkeine

Instr.

[kaupungin ]

kaupungein

Here k becomes g when the syllable is closed, and ii in the plur. ei (26 and 21).

D. Dissyllables ending in the vowel e, preceded by k, p, v, a doubled consonant, or two consonants of which the last is h, j, or m; that is to say, roots like reke, nukke, hanhe, kolme, pilve, etc.

A few words coming under none of these heads also belong to this declension.

a. With a few exceptions the final e becomes i in the nominative sing.

b. The plur. stem ends in simple i (14), but in speaking ei is sometimes used in order to distinguish the sing. and plur.

Läpe, a hole.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

läpi

lävet

Part.

läpeä

läpiä

Gen.

läven

läpien

läpein

In.

lävessä

lävissä

El.

lävestä

lävistä

Il.

läpeen

läpiin

Ad.

lävellä

lävillä

Abl.

läveltä

läviltä

All.

lävelle

läville

Abes.

lävettä

lävittä

Prol.

(lävetse )

lävitse

Transl.

läveksi

läpiksi

Ess.

läpenä

läpinä

Com.

(läpene )

läpine

Instr.

(läven )

lävin

P is weakened to v in the closed syllables (35).

Reke, a sledge.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

reki

reet

Part.

rekeä

rekiä

Gen.

reen

rekien, or rekein

In.

reessä

reissä

Ill.

rekeen

rekiin

Ess.

rekenä

rekinä

etc.

etc.

K is dropped by rule 28. Notice that the word takes the soft terminations.

The Third Declension.

The third declension has the following characteristics:—

(1) The partitive sing. ends in ta or tä after a consonant.

(2) The nominative sing. is never the same as the root.

(3) The root is closed in the partitive sing. and first form of the genitive plur., and sometimes in the nominative and essive sing.

The nouns belonging to this declension may be classed under two divisions.

First Division.

This comprises all words belonging to this declension which have the illative sing. ending in a doubled vowel and n.

To this class belong—

I. Dissyllabic roots ending in e preceded by h, l, n, r, s, t, lt, nt, or rt, and all roots ending in -hte, -kse, -pse, -tse.

E.g. Vete, water.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

vesi

vedet

Part.

vettä

vesiä

Gen.

veden

vetten or vesien

In.

vedessä

vesissä

El.

vedestä

vesistä

Il.

veteen

vesiin

Ad.

vedellä

vesillä

Abl.

vedeltä

vesiltä

All.

vedelle

vesille

Abes.

vedettä

vesittä

Prol.

[vedetse ]

vesitse

Transl.

vedeksi

vesiksi

Ess.

vetenä

vesinä

Com.

(vetene )

vesine

Instr.

(veden )

vesin

In the nominative sing. te becomes si by rule 37. The partitive sing. and first genitive plur. are formed from the closed root. In the majority of the cases of the sing. vete becomes vede when the root is closed by the addition of a suffix, while in the plur. te + i becomes ti, which changes to si by the rule above quoted.

The stem miehe, man, forms the nominative mies, partitive miestä, genitive miehen, inessive miehessä, etc. Plur. miehet, genitive miesten, partitive miehiä, inessive miehissä, etc.

Toise, second.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

toinen

toiset

Part.

toista

toisia

Gen.

toisen

toisten, or toisien

In.

toisessa

toisissa

El.

toisesta

toisista

Ill.

toiseen

toisiin

Ad.

toisella

toisilla

Abl.

toiselta

toisilta

All.

toiselle

toisille

Abes.

toisetta

toisitta

Prol.

[toisetse ]

toisitse

Transl.

toiseksi

toisiksi

Ess.

toisena, or toisna

toisina

Com.

(toisene )

toisine

Instr.

(toisen )

toisin

Roots ending in se change this termination in the nominative to nen. Thus kirjase, a little book, venäläise, Russian, iloise, glad, vihollise, hostile, form in the nominative kirjanen, venäläinen, iloinen, vihollinen. In all such words the partitive sing. and first genitive plur. are formed from the closed root and the essive sing. has two forms.

II. All words of more than one syllable ending in -e.

E.g. Root:—Kolmante, third.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

kolmas

kolmannet

Part.

kolmatta

kolmansia

Gen.

kolmannen

kolmansien

In.

kolmannessa

kolmansissa

El.

kolmannesta

kolmansista

Il.

kolmanteen

kolmansiin

Ad.

kolmannella

kolmansilla

Abl.

kolmannelta

kolmansilta

All.

kolmannelle

kolmansille

Abes.

kolmannetta

kolmansitta

Prol.

[kolmannetse ]

kolmansitse

Transl.

kolmanneksi

kolmansiksi

Ess.

kolmantena

kolmansina

Com.

[kolmantene ]

kolmansine

Instr.

[kolmannen ]

kolmansin

Here (1) the e is rejected in the nominative (rule 16), and kolmant becomes kolmas (24 and 37). (2) The partitive also is formed from the shortened root (kolmant), and kolmantta becomes kolmatta. (3) The cases of the singular and nominative plural, where the last syllable of the root is closed, change nt to nn (rule 31). (4) The essive sing. in the form taken from the full root preserves the root entire, kolmanna is not used. All the cases of the plural which take -i reject the final e before that letter, and change nt to ns (rule 37).

Similarly kannukse, a spur, makes in the nominative kannus (rules 16 and 24). The root remains unaltered in the genitive, etc., kannuksen, while the partitive is kannusta for kannuksta. Similarly in the plural we have kannukset, genitive kannuksien or kannusten, partitive kannuksia.

Kalleute, dearness, makes in the nominative sing. kalleus (24 and 37), partitive kalleut-ta, illative kalleuteen, genitive kalleuden, etc.; plur. nominative kalleudet, first genitive kalleutten, but the second genitive is kalleuksien, and all the remaining cases are of the same type (partitive kalleuksia, illative kalleuksiin, etc.), being formed exactly as if the root was kalleukse.

Adjectives like lyhyte, short, ohute, thin, drop the t altogether between two vowels. E.g. nominative sing. lyhyt, partitive lyhyttä. But the genitive lyhyte-n becomes lyhyen, the illative lyhyteen, lyhyeen, etc.; plur. lyhyet, genitive lyhyitten, lyhytten, partitive lyhyitä (or lyhyviä for lyhyiä).

III. All superlatives in -mpa or -mpä, and all negative adjectives in -ttoma.

The termination -mpa is shortened to n (24 and 46) in the nominative, partitive, and genitive plur. (first form), and of course becomes -mma when the last syllable is closed in the other cases (34); -ttoma becomes -ton in the nominative sing., partitive sing., and first form of genitive plur. (46).

E.g. suurimpa, very large:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

suurin

suurimmat

Part.

suurimpata, suurinta

suurimpia

Gen.

suurimman

suurimpain, suurinten,

or suurimpien

In.

suurimmassa

suurimmissa

El.

suurimmasta

suurimmista

Il.

suurimpaan

suurimpiin

Ad.

suurimmalla

suurimmilla

Abl.

suurimmalta

suurimmilta

All.

suurimmalle

suurimmille

Abes.

suurimmatta

suurimmitta

Prol.

[suurimmatse ]

suurimmitse

Transl.

suurimmaksi

suurimmiksi

Ess.

suurimpana,

or suurinna

suurimpina

Com.

[suurimpane ]

suurimpine

Instr.

[suurimman ]

suurimmin

In the plural the final a is lost before the i (9).

So also viattoma, guiltless (the termination -ttoma corresponds to the English termination -less, or the prefixes un-, in-). In Nom. viaton, a being lost, m becomes n, and the syllable being thus closed tt becomes t. Partitive from the same shortened root viatonta. Genitive, etc. viattoman, etc., nominative plur. viattomat, genitive viatonten, viattomain or viattomien, partitive viattomia, etc.

Second Division.

(1) The illative sing. ends in -sen, the illative plur. in sin, or hin.

(2) The shortened form of the root is always employed in the nominative sing., which ends in s, t, or the aspiration.

(3) The plural is formed from the shortened root, and the stem ends in a long diphthong of which the last letter is i.

(4) The partitive plur. after this diphthong has the termination -ta, -tä.

(5) The second genitive plur. ends in -den (-tten).

This class is composed of what are called contracted nouns (rule 47).

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

uros

uroot

Part.

urosta

uroita

Gen.

uroon

urosten, uroiden, uroitten

In.

uroossa

uroissa

El.

uroosta

uroista

Il.

uroosen

uroihin, uroisin

Ad.

uroolla

uroilla

Abl.

uroolta

uroilta

All.

uroolle

uroille

Abes.

urootta

uroitta

Transl.

urooksi

uroiksi

Prol.

[urootse ]

uroitse

Ess.

uroona or urosna

uroina

Com.

[uroone ]

uroine

Instr.

[uroon ]

uroin

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

vieras

vieraat

Part.

vierasta

vieraita

Gen.

vieraan

vierasten, vieraiden, vieraitten

In.

vieraassa

vieraissa

El.

vieraasta

vieraista

Il.

vieraasen

vierailun, vieraisin

Ad.

vieraalla

vierailla

Abl.

vieraalta

vierailta

All.

vieraalle

vieraille

Abes.

vieraatta

vieraitta

Transl.

vieraaksi

vieraiksi

Prol.

[vieraatse ]

vieraitse

Ess.

vieraana or vierasna

vieraina

Com.

[vieraane ]

vieraine

Instr.

[vieraan ]

vierain

In poetry we also find a declension: uros, vieras, genitive urohon, vierahan, etc., illative urohosen, vierahasen, plur. urohot, vierahat, urohissa, vierahissa, etc., so that it is clear the roots are uroso, vierasa, being weakened.

Analogously are declined such words as terve, healthy, kevät, spring.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

terve

terveet

Part.

tervettä

terveitä

Gen.

terveen

tervetten, terveiden

Il.

terveesen

terveisin or terveihin

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

kevät

keväät

Part.

kevättä

keväitä

Gen.

kevään

kevätten, keväiden

Il.

kevääsen

keväisin, or keväihin

Stems ikehe, a yoke, okaha, point or prickle.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

ies or ijes

ikeet

Part.

iesta, or ijestä

ikeitä

Gen.

ikeen

iesten, ikeiden, ikeitten

In.

ikeessä

ikeissä

Il.

ikeesen

ikeisin, or ikeihin

Ess.

iesnä, ikeenä

ikeinä

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

oas (rule  27)

okaat

Part.

oasta

okaita

Gen.

okaan

oasten, okaiden, okaitten

In.

okaassa

okaissa

Ill.

okaasen

okaisin, or okaihin

Ess.

oasna, okaana

okaina

Vapaa, free, koree, beautiful (for korea).

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

vapaa

vapaat

Part.

vapaata

vapaita

Gen.

vapaan

vapaiden, vapaitten

In.

vapaassa

vapaissa

Il.

vapaasen

vapaisin, vapaihin

Ess.

vapaana

vapaina

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

koree

koreet

Part.

koreeta

koreita

Gen.

koreen

koreiden, koreitten

In.

koreessa

koreissa

Il.

koreesen

koreisin, koreihin

Ess.

koreena

koreina

Participles whose nominative ends in nut or nyt (that is past active participles), like oppinut, lyönyt, form the genitive, inessive, etc., from a root ending in nehe, contracted nee; but the nominative and partitive sing., and one form of the essive sing. and genitive plur. are formed from a root ending in ute, yte, which loses its final vowel.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

oppinut

oppineet

Part.

oppinutta

oppineita

Gen.

oppineen

oppinutten, oppineiden

In.

oppineessa

oppineissa

El.

oppineesta

oppineista

Il.

oppineesen

oppineisin

Ad.

oppineella

oppineilla

Abl.

oppineelta

oppineilta

All.

oppineelle

oppineille

Abes.

oppineetta

oppineitta

Prol.

oppineetse

oppineitse

Transl.

oppineeksi

oppineiksi

Ess.

oppineena or oppinunna

oppineina

Com.

(oppineene )

oppineine

Instr.

(oppineen )

oppinein

So also lyönyt, partitive lyönyttä, genitive lyöneen, inessive lyöneessä, essive lyöneenä, or lyönynnä; plur. nominative lyöneet, partitive lyöneitä, genitive lyönytten or lyöneiden, etc.

Compound Nouns.

Finnish, especially the modern literary dialect, abounds in compound nouns, in which the last word of the compound is defined by that which precedes it, so that the first word is practically an adjective. Thus in pääkaupunki, a capital, kaupunki means a town, and the word pää, a head, describes what sort of town is intended. So also rautatie, a railway, from rauta, iron, and tie, a road; tullihuone, a custom house; puutarha, a garden (puu, a tree, tarha, an enclosure), kirkkotarha, a churchyard (kirkko, church, tarha, enclosure). Sometimes the first word is an adjective, as omatunto, conscience, from oma, own, and tunto, feeling. This is written as one word, because omatunto conveys a different meaning from the separate words oma and tunto.

When a compound is made up of more than two words, all but the last may be regarded as a single word qualifying the last, and then be decomposed in their turn. For instance in ylioppilaskirjasto, University students’ library, kirjasto, library, is qualified by ylioppilas, describing what kind of a library is meant, and in this word ylioppilas, oppilas, student, is particularised by the addition of yli. Similarly isänmaanrakkaus, patriotism, is composed of isänmaa, fatherland, and rakkaus, love, and isänmaa again is composed of isä, father, and maa, land.

Generally the first word of a compound is used in the nominative case. Sairashuone, a hospital (stem sairaha). Frequently, however, it is in the genitive, this case being either (a) descriptive, as in maantie, highroad, literally road of the land: talonpoika, peasant, literally son of a farm; (b) subjective, that is to say, if the compound were developed into a phrase the word in the genitive would become the subject, as kuunvalo, moonlight; (c) objective, that is to say, if the compound were developed into a phrase the word in the genitive would become the object, hatuntekijä, a hatmaker.

More rarely other cases are used, as toimeentulo, subsistence, kuntoonpano, arrangement, accomplishment.

As a rule, only the last word of a compound is declined, the preceding member remaining unaffected by inflection. But if the first member is an adjective, then both parts of the word receive inflections, e.g. vierasmies, a stranger, forms the genitive vieraanmiehen, inessive vieraassamiehessä, etc. But vierasmiehen is not wrong.

THE ADJECTIVE.

Adjectives are declined exactly like substantives, and like them have no gender.

Besides declension they are susceptible of inflections indicating the comparative and superlative degrees.

I. The Comparative is formed by adding to the root of the positive -mpa or -mpä. Huono, bad, huonompa, worse; paksu, fat, paksumpa, fatter. Root, iloise, gay (nominative of positive iloinen), comparative iloisempa.

If a dissyllabic root end in a or ä, that vowel becomes e before the termination mpa. Vanha, old, vanhempa (13).

It is important to note that the suffix -mpa is added to the root, and not to the nominative of the positive.

The stem thus formed is declined with the usual suffixes, after the models given above: mpa in the nominative sing. becomes mpi, and in the cases where the syllable is closed mma.

II. The Superlative is formed by adding to the root of the positive the suffix impa. Before this suffix the vowels a, ä, e, i are rejected, and aa, ää, ee, become ai, äi, ei. Thus iso, great, isoimpa: huono, bad, huonoimpa; but köyhä, köyhimpä, valkea, valkeimpa, etc.

The root thus obtained is declined after the third declension. Notice the difference in the declension of comparatives and superlatives. In the comparative the final a becomes i in the nominative sing., in the superlative it is lost and mp becomes n by rule 2.

Comparative stem suurempa. Superlative stem suurimpa.

Sing.

Nom.

suurempi

suurin

Gen.

suuremman

suurimman

Part.

suurempaa (ta )

suurimpaa, suurinta

Ill.

suurempaan

suurimpaan

Ess.

suurempana

suurimpana, suurinna

etc.

etc.

Plur.

Nom.

suuremmat

suurimmat

Gen.

[suurempaen] suurempain

suurinten, suurimpain

suurimpien

Part.

suurempia

suurimpia

etc.

etc.

Examples of the formation of the comparative and superlative.

Positive.

Comparative.

Superlative.

vanha, old

vanhempi ( 11)

vanhin

raaka, raw

raaempi (28,  9)

raain ( 28)

vapaa, free

vapaampi

vapain

ihava, fat

lihavampi

lihavin

köyhä, poor

köyhempi ( 11)

köyhin

terävä, sharp

terävämpi

terävin

suruinen, sorrowful

suruisempi

suruisin

lyhyt, short

lyhyempi

lyhyin

aulis, liberal

auliimpi

auliin

paksu, fat

paksumpi

paksuin

mieto, mild

miedompi ( 32)

miedoin

rikas, rich

rikkaampi

rikkain

kaunis, beautiful

kauniimpi

kauniin, kaunein

oppinut, learned

oppineempi

oppinein

The following words are irregular, the comparative and superlative being formed from different roots to the positive.

Positive.

Comparative.

Superlative.

hyvä, good

parempi

paras, parhain (root paraa )

paljo, much

enempi

enin

pitkä, long

pitempi

pisin (as if from root pitä )

moni, many

useampi

usein

Molemmat, both, is an isolated comparative form.

The following adjectives are not declined or compared, but remain invariable in all cases.—Aika, strong; aimo, good; kelpo, worthy; eri, different; koko, all; ensi, next; viime, last; pikku, little. Kaikki, all, is not usually changed in the nominative plural, but otherwise is declined.

FORMATION OF SUBSTANTIVES AND ADJECTIVES.

Some substantives and adjectives are primitive—that is to say, they consist of roots which cannot be further analysed, and to which the case suffixes are directly attached. But a great number of words are not mere roots, but roots with additional syllables which modify the meaning of the original root.

The following are the principal syllables so added to roots to form nouns and adjectives.

SUBSTANTIVES.

I. The following suffixes are used to form substantives from verbs.

-ja. A factitive suffix, that is to say, denoting the doer of the action denoted by the root. Luoja, the creator (luo, to create). Kalastaja, a fisherman. When a root ends in e this letter is generally changed to i before the suffix -ja. Teke, to make, tekijä, a maker; luke, to read, lukija, a reader. This suffix is also found in the forms -jame (nominative -jan or -jain), -jaise (-jainen), -jaa.

-ri has the same meaning as -ja: mylläri, a miller, juomari, a drunkard, petturi, a deceiver. (This is really a foreign termination from the Swedish -re.)

-ma (the termination of the third infinitive) expresses an action or the result of an action. Sanoma, report (“a speaking”), elämä, life, kuolema, death.

-mise (nominative minen, the termination of the fourth infinitive) expresses a continuous action, or an action in an abstract sense. Laulaminen, singing, eläminen, living.

-nto, -nta (chiefly poetical), -nti (added to monosyllabic roots) express an action or a state arising from an action. Luonto, nature (from luo, to create), uskonto, religion (“believing,” from uskoa, to believe), tuonti, bringing to, or importation, vienti, bringing away from, or exportation, laulanta, singing.

o (ö) and u (y) (before which the last vowel of the root is rejected) form abstract nouns denoting action. Muisto, memory, makso, payment, tulo, arrival, lähtö, departure, luku, reading, itku, weeping, maksu, payment.

-okse or -ukse (nominative -os or -us) also form abstract nouns expressing an action, and are specially added to trisyllabic verbs ending in -ta. Valmistus, preparation, harjoitus, practice, vastaus, answer. The same suffix is sometimes found in combination with -ma (-ma + ukse = mukse) juopumus, drunkenness.

-io has the same meaning. Huomio, attention, palkkio, a reward.

-ee (original stem ehe, closed form eʻ) expresses action or the product of action: puhe, conversation, kanne, accusation.

-ime (nominative -in) expresses the instrument with which an action is performed. Avain, a key (‘the opener’), uistin, a fishhook, viskain, anything used to throw things away, e.g. a bucket; viskin is also found.

II. The following suffixes are used to form derivative nouns from other nouns.

-se, -ise (nominative -nen, -inen) are used to form family names, like the Russian terminations -овъ, -евъ, Peltonen, Koskinen, Karhunen, etc.

-ttare (nominative -tar) is a similar affix for feminine names. Karhutar, Ilmatar (daughter of the air), Manalatar (daughter of death).

-laise (nominative -lainen) is used to form designations of nationality. Suomalainen, a Finn; Ruotsalainen, a Swede; Venäläinen, a Russian; Englantilainen, an Englishman.

The following suffixes are used to form diminutives—

-se (nominative -nen), or ise (nominative -inen). Kirjanen, emonen, poikanen.

-lo. Purtilo, kotelo.

-ue, ye (originally ute, yte; nominative -ut, -yt). Poiut, kuuhut, päivyt, päähyt.

-kka, -kaise (nominative kainen). -kkee (original form -kkehe, nominative keʻ). Annikka, mullikka, lapsukainen, silmäke.

The following terminations have a local significance—

-kko or -ikko indicates a place where anything is found in a quantity; rapakko, a muddy place; kivikko, a heap of stones; koivikko, a birchwood; kuusikko, firwood.

-la, added to the name of a person, expresses the place where that person lives; pappila, a priest’s house; setälä, uncle’s house; tuonela, the house of death.

-nko or -nte is used to form local substantives. Alanko, a low-lying place (Alankomaat, the Netherlands), ylänkö, a height; tasanko, a plane.

Suffixes denoting a collection of objects are—

-sto, generally used of inanimate objects; kirjasto, a library; laivasto, a fleet; hongisto, pinewood.

-uee (original form uehe, nominative -ueʻ), generally used of animate objects; matkue, laivue, seurue.

III. Names of abstract qualities are formed from adjectives with the suffix -ute, -yte (nominative -us, -ys). Before this suffix a, ä, e are changed to u or y, and form a long vowel; hyvyys, virtue (hyvä); rakkaus (from stem rakkaa); arkuus, cowardice; turhuus, vanity. If a root ends in i or ii this vowel generally becomes e in dissyllabic roots, and u in polysyllabic. Kalleus, but naapuruus, kumppanuus.

ADJECTIVAL TERMINATIONS.

The commonest adjectival suffix is -ise (nominative -inen), which is added usually to nouns. Aamu, morning, aamuinen, early; kulta, gold; kultainen, golden. This suffix is sometimes added to cases, especially the essive; yksinäinen, ominainen, luonteinen. Similarly the very common suffix -llise (nominative -llinen) is the result of adding ise to the adessive or allative—maallinen, rahallinen, vihollinen.

-ttoma (nominative ton) is a caritive suffix signifying without or deprived of (cf. the English -less); isätön, fatherless; rahaton, moneyless. It is frequently added to the third infinitive of verbs, e.g. kuolematon, immortal.

-kkaha (nominative -kkas) is the exact contrary of this last suffix, and signifies progressing or provided with; rahakas, having much money; voimakas, strong.

-isa and -va have much the same meaning as -kkaha; kuuluisa, glorious; kalaisa, rich in fish; lihava, fat; terävä, sharp.

-se, -kaise, and -hka, -hko are used to form adjectival diminutives; lyhykäinen, short (Russian коротенькій), pitkähkö, longish.

The suffix -mainen forms adjectives meaning like, or rather; English -ish; lapsimainen, childish; poikamainen, boyish; hyvämäinen, pretty good.

THE NUMERALS.

The following are the numerals, cardinal and ordinal, given in the nominative sing.

Card.

Ord.

1.

yksi

ensimäinen or ensiímmäinen

2.

kaksi

toinen

3.

kolme

kolmas

4.

neljä

neljäs

5.

viisi

viides

6.

kuusi

kuudes

7.

seitsemän

seitsemäs

8.

kahdeksan

kahdeksas

9.

yhdeksän

yhdeksäs

10.

kymmenen

kymmenes

The numbers from 11 to 20 are formed by adding  toista, that is the partitive of toinen, to the corresponding number below 10.

11.

yksitoista

yhdestoista

12.

kaksitoista

kahdestoista

13.

kolmetoista

kolmastoista

14.

neljätoista

neljästoista

15.

viisitoista

viidestoista

16.

kuusitoista

kuudestoista

17.

seitsemäntoista

seitsemästoista

18.

kahdeksantoista

kahdeksastoista

19.

yhdeksäntoista

yhdeksästoista

20.

kaksikymmentä

kahdeskymmenes

(that is, two tens).

The numbers between twenty and thirty are formed analogously to those between 10 and 20, that is to say, the numbers up to one, two, three, etc., are prefixed to the partitive case of  kolmas.

21.

yksikolmatta

yhdeskolmatta

22.

kaksikolmatta

kahdeskolmatta

23.

kolmekolmatta

kolmaskolmatta

24.

neljäkolmatta

neljäskolmatta

25.

viisikolmatta

viideskolmatta

etc., till

30.

kolmekymmentä

kolmaskymmenes

and then as before the numerals up to ten prefixed to the partitive of  neljäs, fourth, e.g.

36.

kuusineljättä

kuudesneljättä

37.

seitsemänneljättä

seitsemäsneljättä

38.

kahdeksanneljättä

kahdeksasneljättä

39.

yhdeksänneljättä

yhdeksäsneljättä

40.

neljäkymmentä

neljäskymmenes

41.

yksiviidettä

yhdesviidettä

and so on till

50.

viisikymmentä

viideskymmenes

51.

yksikuudetta

yhdeskuudetta

etc.

etc.

60.

kuusikymmentä

kuudeskymmenes

65.

viisiseitsemättä

viidesseitsemättä

70.

seitsemänkymmentä

seitsemäskymmenes

75.

viisikahdeksatta

viideskahdeksatta

80.

kahdeksankymmentä

kahdeksaskymmenes

85.

viisiyhdeksättä

viidesyhdeksättä

90.

yhdeksänkymmentä

yhdeksäskymmenes

100.

sata

sadas

200.

kaksi sataa

kahdes sadas

300.

kolme sataa

kolmas sadas

400.

neljä sataa

neljäs sadas

500.

viisi sataa

viides sadas

600.

kuusisataa

kuudes sadas

700.

seitsemän sataa

seitsemäs sadas

800.

kahdeksan sataa

kahdeksas sadas

900.

yhdeksan sataa

yhdeksäs sadas

1000.

tuhat

tuhannes

2000.

kaksi tuhatta

kahdestuhannes

etc.

etc.

1,000,000.

miljona

miljonas

2,000,000.

kaksimiljonaa

kahdesmiljonas

The numbers between the hundreds are formed simply by placing the required number after sata, e.g.

101 satayksi, satayhdes; 221 kaksi sataa yksikolmatta, and similarly 4872 will be neljätuhatta kahdeksan sataa kaksikahdeksatta.

The Finnish system of numbers, though apparently difficult to understand, is really very simple when the principle is once grasped. Starting with the ten simple numbers, all the numbers up to a hundred which are multiples of ten are expressed in the form two tens, three tens, etc., kaksikymmentä, kolmekymmentä. The word kymmenen is put in the partitive, because, as will be seen in the syntax, a number requires this case after it. The interval between 10 and 20 is regarded as a set of ten, and 11 is 1 of the second set of ten[8] (the first set being from 1 to 10), similarly from 20 to 30 is the third set of ten, and 27 is 7 of the third set of ten. Accordingly these intermediate numbers are expressed by a unit followed by the partitive case of an ordinal number, viisiyhdeksättä, five of the ninth (set of ten), that is, 85. An exactly similar way of calculating can be traced in the Russian method of computing time, e.g. ten minutes past six is represented by

Десять минуть седьмаго. Ten minutes of the seventh (hour).

The system of numeration just explained is at present giving way to another form borrowed from Russian and Swedish, where the numbers above twenty are formed exactly as in ordinary European languages. 21 is kaksikymmentä yksi, 37 kolmekymmentä seitsemän, 74 seitsemänkymmentä neljä, and so on with all the others. Though the older method is still employed in the interior of Finland, the other is almost universally employed where the Finns come much into contact with strangers, which is not wonderful, for such forms as yksikolmatta, though more primitive in Finnish than kaksikymmentä yksi, and agreeable to the genius of the language, are difficult for foreigners to understand, without a good deal of explanation.

The numbers up to ten are declined exactly like substantives.

Yksi has its root yhte. Partitive yhte, genitive yhden (31), inessive yhdessä, etc., essive yhtenä.

Kaksi, root kahte, partitive kahta, genitive kahden (31), inessive kahdessa, etc., essive kahtena.

Kolme, root and nominative (N.B.—Nominative is not kolmi) kolmea, genitive kolmen, kolmessa, etc.

Neljä, partitive neljää, genitive neljän, etc.

Viisi, root viite, partitive viittä, genitive viiden (31), inessive viidessä, etc., essive viitenä.

Kuusi, root kuute, partitive kuutta, genitive kuuden (31), etc.

Seitsemän, partitive seitsentä, seitsemää, genitive seitsemän, inessive seitsemässä.

Kahdeksan, partitive kahdeksaa, genitive kahdeksan, inessive kahdeksassa.

Yhdeksän, partitive yhdeksää, genitive yhdeksän, inessive yhdeksässä.

Kymmenän, kymmenen, partitive kymmenää, kymmentä; genitive kymmenän, kymmenen; inessive kymmenässä, kymmenessä.

The ordinals are also declined exactly as substantives.

Ensimäinen, root ensimäise, partitive ensimäistä, genitive ensimäisen, etc.

Toinen, root toise, partitive toista, genitive toisen, etc.

Kolmas, root kolmante, partitive kolmatta, genitive kolmannen (30).

Neljäs, neljänte, partitive neljättä, genitive neljännen.

Viides, viidente, partitive, viidettä, genitive viidennen.

Kuudes, root kuudente, partitive kuudetta, genitive kuudennen.

Seitsemäs, root seitsemänte, partitive seitsemättä, genitive seitsemännen.

Kahdeksan, root kahdeksante, partitive kahdeksatta, genitive kahdeksannen.

Yhdeksän, root yhdeksänte, partitive yhdeksättä, genitive yhdeksännen.

In the composite forms ensimäinen and toinen are replaced by yhdes and kahdes.

Sata is declined like any other noun in a; tuhat comes from the stem tuhante, and makes genitive sing. tuhannen, genitive plur. tuhansien, partitive sing. tuhatta, partitive plur. tuhansia.

In both ordinal and cardinal numbers expressing any multiple of ten, e.g. 70, 120, 2000, all the words forming the expression are declined quite regularly except the nominative of cardinals, where the partitive is employed in the second number, e.g. Viisi sataa 500 (here the word sataa is in the partitive), partitive viittä sataa, genitive viiden sadan, inessive viidessä sadassa, etc.

Kuudes-Tuhannes, 6000th. Partitive kuudetta tuhatta, genitive kuudennen tuhannenen.

But in words designating numbers between the tens, and consisting of a simple number and a number in the partitive case only, the first number is declined and the second remains in the partitive, e.g. yksitoista, makes yhdentoista, yhdellätoista, and similarly the others.

The fractional numbers (with the exception of puoli, a half) are formed by adding -kse to the corresponding ordinal; the noun is then declined like number.

½ puoli, ⅓ kolmannes, ¼ neljännes, ⅕ viidennes, ⅙ kuudennes, ⅐ seitsemännes, ⅛ kahdeksannes, ⅑ yhdeksännes, ⅒ kymmenennes, ⅟₂₁ kaksikymmentäyhdennes, ⅟₁₀₀ sadannes, etc. So also ⅔ kaksi kolmannesta, ³⁄₇ kolme seitsemännestä. These numbers can also be formed with the ordinals, and the word osa, a part. Neljäs osa, the fourth part, or ¼. Numbers like 1½, 2½, are expressed as a half of the second, a half of the third, etc., puoli-toista, puoli-kolmatta.

The distributive numbers are yksittäin, one by one; kaksittain, two by two; kolmittain, etc.

Yksinäinen, simple; kaksinainen, double; kolminainen, triple; nelinäinen, fourfold, etc.

PRONOUNS.

The personal pronouns are declined almost exactly like nouns.

First person minä; the singular is formed from the root minu, the plural from the root me.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

minä

me

Part.

minua

meitä

Gen.

minun

meidän

In.

minussa

meissä

El.

minusta

meistä

Il.

minuun

meihin

Ad.

minulla

meillä

Abl.

minulta

meiltä

All.

minulle

meille

Abes.

minutta

meittä

Transl.

minuksi

meiksi

Ess.

minuna

meinä

The other cases are not used.

Second person, sinä, root in sing. sinu, in plur. te.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

sinä

te

Part.

sinua

teitä

Gen.

sinun

teidän

In.

sinussa

teissä

El.

sinusta

teistä

Il.

sinuun

teihin

Ad.

sinulla

teillä

Abl.

sinulta

teiltä

All.

sinulle

teille

Abes.

sinutta

teittä

Transl.

sinuksi

teiksi

Ess.

sinuna

teinä

Third person hän, he, she, or it, there being no distinction of genders. Root in sing. häne, in plur. he.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

hän

he

Part.

häntä

heitä

Gen.

hänen

heidän

In.

hänessä

heissä

El.

hänestä

heistä

Il.

häneen

heihin

Ad.

hänellä

heillä

Abl.

häneltä

heiltä

All.

hänelle

heille

Abes.

hänettä

heittä

Transl.

häneksi

heiksi

Ess.

hänenä

heinä

There are also found accusatival forms ending in -t: minut, plur. meidät, sinut, plur. teidät, hänet, plur. heidät. The forms in -n are also used as accusatives.

In poetry and some dialects shortened forms are also found: first person nominative ma or mä, partitive mua, genitive mun, adessive mulla, ablative multa, allative mulle. Second person sa or sä, sun, sua, sulla, sulta, sulle. Third person hällä, hältä, hälle. For the part. minuta, sinuta are found in the Bible, and milma, silma in poetry.

Mie, sie, hä, are used in the Wiburg dialect.

Possessive Pronouns.

The possessive pronouns are usually expressed by suffixes added to nouns.

These suffixes are:—

Sing.

Plur.

1st pers.

-ni

-mme

2nd ”

-si[9]

-nne

3rd ”

-nsa or -nsä

-nsa or nsä

(1) To form the nominative sing. of a noun with a possessive suffix the suffix is added to the root. Käsi, a hand, but käteni, my hand; kysymys, a question, kysymyksesi, thy question, because the roots are käte, kysymykse.

(2) In the other cases the suffix is added after the termination, but should a case end in a consonant, that consonant is rejected before the suffix. Veljeni, my brothers, because veljetni is euphonically disagreeable.

(3) The possessive suffix does not cause the consonants of the root to be weakened: e.g. pelto, genitive pellon, but with suffix peltomme, etc. Kirkko, church, kirkon, but kirkkonsa.

But d in the genitive plur. remains and does not become t: e.g. maidensa.

(4) The term of the translative before a pronoun-suffix is -kse not -ksi.

E.g. Tapa, with suffix -ni.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tapani

tapani

Part.

tapaani

tapojeni or tapaini

Gen.

tapani

tapojani ( 7)

In.

tavassani

tavoissani (7, 35,  36)

Il.

tapaani

tapoihini

Ad.

tavallani

tavoillani

and so the allative, etc.

etc., etc.

Transl.

tavakseni

tavoikseni

Ess.

tapanani

tapoinani

Here the genitive sing. tapani is for tavanni, the nominative sing. for tavatni, tapaani in the illative for tapaanni. The p is weakened to v only where the case inflexion requires it. The declension of the second person sing. is exactly analogous, only -si is affixed instead of -ni.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tapasi

tapasi

Part.

tapaasi

tapojasi

Gen.

tapasi

tapojesi or tapaisi

In.

tavassasi

tavoissasi

El.

tavastasi

tavoistasi

Il.

tapaasi

tapoihisi

Ad.

tavallasi

tavoillasi

Abl.

tavaltasi

tavoiltasi

All.

tavallesi

tavoillesi

Abes.

tavattasi

tavoittasi

Transl.

tavaksesi

tavoiksesi

Ess.

tapanasi

tapoinasi

Com.

tapanesi

tapoinesi

For the declension of the first person plur. -mme is suffixed to all the cases.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tapamme

tapamme

Part.

tapaamme

tapojamme

Gen.

tapamme

tapojemme, tapaimme

In.

tavassamme

tavoissamme

El.

tavastamme

tavoistamme

Il.

tapaamme

tapoihimme

Ad.

tavallamme

tavoillamme

Abl.

tavaltamme

tavoiltamme

All.

tavallemme

tavoillemme

Abes.

tavattamme

tavoittamme

Transl.

tavaksemme

tavoiksemme

Ess.

tapanamme

tapoinamme

Com.

tapanemme

tapoinemme

The second person is declined exactly like the above, only nne and not -mme is suffixed.

The third person of the sing. and plur. alike takes the suffix -nsa (-nsä), which in all the cases except the nominative, genitive, and partitive is optionally shortened to n, before which the preceding vowel is doubled.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tapansa

tapansa

Part.

tapaansa

tapojansa, tapojaan

Gen.

tapansa

tapojensa, tapojeen, tapainsa

In.

tavassansa, tavassaan

tavoissansa, tavoissaan

El.

tavastansa, tavastaan

tavoistansa, tavoistaan

Il.

tapaansa, [tapahaan ]

tapoihinsa, [tapoihiin ]

Ad.

tavallansa, tavallaan

tavoillansa, tavoillaan

Abl.

tavaltansa, tavaltaan

tavoiltansa, tavoiltaan

All.

tavallensa, tavalleen

tavoillensa, tavoilleen

Abes.

tavattansa, tavattaan

tavoittansa, tavoittaan

Transl.

tavaksensa, tavakseen

tavoiksensa, tavoikseen

Ess.

tapanansa, tapanaan

tapoinansa, tapoinaan

Com.

tapanensa, tapaneen

tapoinensa, tapoineen

Demonstrative Pronouns.

The demonstrative pronouns are tämä, this, tuo, that, and se, it or that. The corresponding plur. roots are nämä, nuo or noi, and ne.

Tämä:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tämä

nämät or nämä

Part.

tätä

näitä

Gen.

tämän

näiden, näitten

In.

tässä

näissä

El.

tästä

näistä

Il.

tähän

näihin

Ad.

tällä

näillä

Abl.

tältä

näiltä

All.

tälle

näille

Abes.

tättä

näittä

Transl.

täksi

näiksi

Ess.

tänä

näinä

Instr.

tämän

näin

Tuo:—

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

tuo

nuot or nuo

Part.

tuota

noita

Gen.

tuon

noiden, noitten

In.

tuossa

noissa

El.

tuosta

noista

Il.

tuohon

noihin

Ad.

tuolla

noilla

Abl.

tuolta

noilta

All.

tuolle

noille

Abes.

tuotta

noitta

Transl.

tuoksi

noiksi

Ess.

tuona

noina

Instr.

tuon

noin

In poetry are found such forms as tää for tämä, nää for nämä, tään or tän for tämän.

Se.—The nominative, genitive, and instructive sing. are formed from the root se, the remaining cases of the singular from si, except the inessive and elative which are irregular. The nominative plur. is ne. The remaining cases from the root nii.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

se

ne or net

Part.

sitä

niitä

Gen.

sen

niiden, niitten

In.

siinä

niissä

El.

siitä

niistä

Il.

siihen

niihin

Ad.

sillä

niillä

Abl.

siltä

niiltä

All.

sille

niille

Abes.

sittä

niittä

Transl.

siksi

niiksi

Ess.

sinä

niinä

Instr.

sen

niin

Interrogative Pronouns.

The interrogative pronouns are kuka, ken, who, mikä, what, kumpi, which or what of two.

The root of kuka is ku, the syllable ka being added to the former which would otherwise be monosyllabic. The plural is not much used.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

kuka

kutka

Part.

kuta

kuita

Gen.

kunka

kuiden, kuitten

In.

kussa

kuissa

Il.

kuhun

kuista

Instr.

——

kuin or kuinka

etc.

etc.

In poetry are found ku (nominative sing.), kut (nominative plur.), kun (genitive sing.).

The root of ken is kene, but in the partitive sing. and nominative plur. this is shortened to ke, and the same form is optionally used for the other cases. The root of the plural except in the nominative is kei.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

ken

ketkä

Part.

ketä

keitä

Gen.

kenen

keiden, keitten

In.

kessä or kenessä

keissä

Il.

kenehen or kehen

etc., etc.

etc., etc.

Mikä is declined like kuka: the plur. root is mi.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

mikä

mitkä

Part.

mitä

mitä

Gen.

minkä

[miden or mitten ]

In.

missä

missä

Instr.

min

min

etc.

etc.

In poetry are found mi (nominative) and min (accusative).

Kumpi is declined like a comparative.

Relative Pronouns.

The relative pronouns are joka, who or which, jompi, which of two.

Joka is declined on the same principle as kuka, jompi like a comparative.

Sing.

Plur.

Sing.

Plur.

Nom.

joka

jotka

jompi

jommat

Part.

jota

joita

jompaa

jompia

Gen.

jonka

joiden

jomman

jompien

joitten

jompain

In.

jossa

joissa

jommassa

jommissa

etc.

etc.

Indefinite Pronouns.

The indefinite pronouns are joku, some one, jompi-kumpi, one of two; both the component parts are declined.

Nominative joku, jompikumpi, genitive jonkun, jomman-kumman, inessive jossakussa, jommassa-kummassa, etc.

Jokin, something, kukin, each, mikin, anyone or anything, kumpi-kin, one or other of two: decline only the first part.

Kukaan, mikään, kenkään, kumpikaan, kumpainenkaan, meaning anyone, anything, etc., are used only in negative sentences or in questions which are virtually negative; the suffix -kaan, -kään, is not declined.

Joka, any or every, is not declined. Joka mies, any man you like.

Reflexive Pronoun.

The reflexive pronoun is itse, self. It is declined. Genitive itsen, partitive itseä, etc. It always takes a pronominal suffix to define its meaning: itseäsi (partitive) thyself, itseksensä (translative) himself.

Among pronouns may also be reckoned the following:—

Muu, another (muuta, muun, etc., plur. muut).

Muutama or eräs, some one.

Molempi, plur. molemmat, both.

Kaikki, plur. kaikki, all. Koko, indeclinable, all.

Moni, many.

Sama, the same, or samainen.

Oma, one’s own.

THE VERB.

The verbs in Finnish, as in other languages, are transitive or intransitive, and have an active and passive voice. It is further to be noticed that the negative verb is conjugated quite differently to the affirmative.

The verb may be considered to have seven moods:—the indicative, the concessive, the conditional, the optative, the imperative, the verbal substantive, and the verbal adjective.

Before giving an example of the conjugation of a verb it will be well to examine the formation of these moods and their various tenses. At first only the simple tenses will be considered, that is to say those formed by the addition of suffixes to a verbal root. The compound tenses are formed by combining certain verbal forms with parts of the verb ‘to be.’

Formation of the Moods and Tenses of an Affirmative Verb.

All parts of the finite verb, except the optative and imperative, mark the person by the following terminations:—

Sing.

Plur.

1.

-n

1.

-mme

2.

-t

2.

-tte

3.

(-pi, -vi) or none

3.

-vat, -vät

In ordinary Finnish the third person singular receives no termination, but the final vowel of the root is lengthened in the present indicative, if not already a long vowel or diphthong. Thus, the roots anta, repi, tuo form the third person sing. present, antaa, repii, tuo. On the same principle the third person sing. of the concessive ends in -nee, the tense stem ending in -ne. In the imperfect and conditional the tense stem is used unaltered.

Monosyllabic verbs sometimes receive the termination -pi in the third person present, e.g. saapi, tuopi for saa, tuo. Another variety of this termination is in vi, used very frequently in the Kalevala and the Karelian dialect.

This termination pi or vi is obviously primitive and is akin to the plur. -vat which has the plur. suffix t. It is found in all the Baltic dialects in the form of b, p, or v, and sporadically in Cheremissian, but not apparently in the other languages of the Finno-Ugric group.

The indicative mood has two simple tenses, the present (also used as a future) and the imperfect.

The present indicative has no tense terminations, and is formed by adding the personal terminations to the root; the third sing. having no termination, is of course the simple root, and always ends in a double vowel or diphthong, except in the verb substantive on, he is. Thus, taking the root repi and adding to it the present terminations given above, we get for the present infinitive revi-n (by rule 35), revi-t, repii, revi-mme, revi-tte, repi-vät.

The stem of the imperfect indicative is formed by adding to the root the vowel i, before which the last vowel of the root is changed or lost according to rules 3-9, 14, 21. To the stem thus formed are added the personal terminations. Thus on adding to the root saa the termination i, we get sai, and this forms sain, sait, sai, saimme, saitte, saivat. Similarly the root tuo with the suffix i becomes toi, and the imperfect toin, toit, etc.; antaa forms antoi (annoin, 31, annoit, etc.).

The concessive mood is formed by adding to the root the syllable -ne, and then suffixing to this the personal terminations. It has only one tense. Sometimes the suffix -ne becomes assimilated to the preceding consonant. Root saa, conditional-stem saane; 1. saanen; 2. saanet; 3. saanee. 1. saanemme; 2. saa-nette; 3. saanevat. But nousne becomes nousse; noussen, nousset, noussee, etc., the shortened root of nouse being nous.

The conditional has also only one simple tense formed by placing the syllable -isi after the root and suffixing the personal terminations. The final vowel of the root is lost or altered before the termination -isi according to the rules given, but a and ä remain unchanged except in monosyllabic verbs. Root saa, stem of conditional saisi; 1. saisin; 2. saisit; 3. saisi. 1. saisimme; 2. saisitte; 3. saisivat.

This suffix -isi is perhaps akin to the formative suffix -kse (v. page 112).

The imperative is characterized by the addition of ka, kä to the stem, the only persons used being the second sing. and first and second plur. The first person sing. is altogether wanting, and the third person sing. and plur. are supplied by the optative.

The second person sing. is the root, but in a closed form. Thus the roots lyö, tako, otta, anta, pyrki, teke form the imperatives lyö, tao (28), ota (30), anna (31), pyri (27), tee (28). This person had no doubt once the syllable ka (kä) suffixed, which became reduced to -k, and thus closed the syllable. In dialects are found such forms as annak, otak, clearly showing the origin of the form.

The first and second persons plur. are formed by suffixing kaamme (or kämme), and kaatte (or kätte) to the root. In the second person the suffix tte is usually omitted, and the form ends simply in -kaa. Thus from the roots above cited we have lyökäämme, lyökää; takokaamme, takokaa; ottakaamme, ottakaa, antakaamme, antakaa; pyrkikäämme, pyrkikää; tehkäämme (this root undergoes special changes), tehkää.

The optative, which in some ways may be regarded as forming one complete tense with the imperative, is characterized by the addition of ko, kö to the root.

The second person sing. ends in os (e.g. lukeos, antaos), apparently ko with the affix of the second person; lukekos, which has perhaps lost a final vowel, becomes lukeos by rule 28.

The third person sing. ends in koon for kohon, and the third plur. in koot for kohot; antakoon, antakoot; pyrkiköön, pyrkikööt.

When owing to the loss of a vowel this k follows immediately after l, r, or n, it becomes assimilated to those letters, tullos for tulkos; purros for purkos; mennös for menkös.

The infinitive in Finnish is a real substantive, that is to say, just as from a verbal root can be derived, by the addition of suffixes, forms expressing person, time, and modality, so by the addition of other suffixes to the same root can be formed nouns, which can take the ordinary case terminations and also the pronominal suffixes.

These infinitives are five in number. Their signification and use, which constitute one of the great difficulties of the Finnish language, will be explained in the Syntax.

I. The termination of the first infinitive is -taʻ (-tä), e.g. saada (rule 32); root nous (for nouse), nousta; root tul (tulee), tulla. Between two simple vowels this t drops out and the termination is simply a (ä); sano-ta, sanoaʻ; repitä, repiä. N.B.—The syllable ta (tä) or a (ä) is closed with the aspiration.

This infinitive has only one case, the translative, which is used with the personal suffixes, e.g. juo, to drink, juo-da-kse-ni, for my drinking, lukeaksesi, for thy reading.

II. The stem of the second infinitive is formed by adding -teʻ to the root, the syllable being closed. This te becomes e between two simple vowels like the ta of the first infinitive. It has as a rule only two cases, the inessive and instructive (though some verbs have more), to which the personal suffixes can be added, e.g. saa, saade, saadessa, saadessani (in my receiving); instructive saaden. Tule, shortened root tul, infinitive II tulle, inessive tullessansa, instructive tullen; repi, infinitive repie, repiessä, repien.[10]

III. The third infinitive is formed by adding ma (mä) to the root. There is nothing irregular in its formation or declension. It is used in most of the cases of the sing., but only occasionally takes the personal suffixes, e.g. sano, infinitive III sanoma, genitive sanoman, sanomalla, sanomatta, etc., exactly like a noun.

IV. The fourth infinitive is formed by adding mise to the root. It has two cases, the nominative which ends in minen, and the partitive in mista. Sano, sanominen, sanomista; teke, tekeminen, tekemistä, tekemistänsä, etc.

V. The fifth infinitive, which is not much used except in poetry, and may be regarded as a diminutive derived from infinitive III, is formed by adding maise to the root. It is used only in the adessive plural, and always with a personal suffix. Nouse, to rise, nouse-mais-i-lla-nsa; tule, tulemaisillani.

There are two participles or verbal adjectives in Finnish. They are simply adjectives formed from a verbal root by the addition of a suffix.

I. The first verbal adjective is formed by adding va (vä) to the root. (Sometimes this suffix is found in the form of pa, pä.) The adjective so formed is declined in the ordinary way.

II. The stem of the second participle is formed by adding nehe (shortened nee) to the root. This termination (as explained p. 40) becomes nut or nyt in the nominative, e.g. oppi, to learn, oppinehe, nominative oppinut, genitive oppinehen (or neen), oppineella, etc., partitive, oppinutta, essive oppineena or oppinunna, illative oppineesen, plur. oppineet, genitive oppinutten, oppineiden, partitive oppineita, etc.

The Passive.

All the forms of the finite passive verb in Finnish are impersonal, e.g. tuodaan means ‘people bring,’ or ‘there is a bringing,’ in French ‘on apporte;’ but there are no personal forms like the Latin or Greek passives.

The root of the passive is formed by adding ta or tä to the verb. The same changes are made as for the infinitive I active; but,

A. If the t of the passive termination comes between two simple vowels it is doubled, e.g. leipo, leivotta (35).

B. Simple a and ä become e before the t, which is then doubled, kaiva, kaivetta; heittä, heitettä.

The root thus formed receives a termination analogous to the illative, that is to say h—n with the same vowel between them as precedes the h. In the passive the h drops out, and the n is preceded by a long vowel. The syllable ta in the present is closed with the aspiration.

For instance:—Saa makes saadaan, that is saa + ta’ + han, the h dropping out and the t being softened; syö, syödään for syö-tä’-hän. So too sido, sidotta, sidotahan, which becomes sidotaan; mene (which is shortened to men) becomes mennään; kaiva, kaivetta, kaivetaan. It is to be noticed that in verbs ending in a long vowel or diphthong, the passive present has the form daan, the t being softened. But where the t is doubled after a short vowel the present passive ends in taan.

The imperfect tense is formed as in the active by adding i to the stem, but the consonants are not softened, because the syllable ti does not end with the aspiration, e.g. the present passive is formed by adding taʻ (with the aspiration) to the root: saa-taʻ which becomes saada, and then with the termination saadaan. But the imperfect has the stem saati, which gives saatiin. So we have root sido, present sidotaan, but imperfect sidottiin; repi, present revitään, imperfect revittiin; tule (shortened tul), present tullaan, imperfect tultiin.

The concessive passive is formed by adding to the passive root in ta, the modal termination ne, and the usual suffix, saata + ne + hen = saataneen. The consonants are not weakened, e.g. tultaneen, sidottaneen. The final n is frequently omitted, e.g. saatanee.

The conditional is formed by placing isi after the syllable ta, and suffixing the termination hin saata + isi + hin; saataisiin; tul (tule), tulta, tultaisiin.

In the optative the termination ko is added between ta and the suffix hon, saata-ko-hon, saatakoon.

The imperative is not used.

Theoretically of course all the five infinitives can be formed for the passive as well as the active verb, but practically only two are ever used: (a) The inessive sing. of the infinitive II. The root is of the form saatate, which becomes saatae, and we have such forms as saataessa, noustaessa. (b) The instructive of infinitive III formed by adding ma to the root ending in ta and suffixing n, saataman, luvattaman.[11]

There are two participles.

I. Formed as in the active by adding va or vä after ta, tä; saatava, revittävä.

II. Formed by adding u or y after ta or tä, before which vowels a, ä always fall out; saata + u, saatu; revittä + y, revitty.

The Negative Conjugation.

The conjugation of the negative verb is entirely different from that of the positive.

In Finnish there is no word exactly corresponding to the English words ‘not,’ ‘no.’ Instead there is a negative verb, consisting of a root combined with the personal terminations, and which may be literally translated ‘not I,’ ‘not thou,’ ‘not it,’ etc.

The root of this verb in the present is e or ei, and it is conjugated as below.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en

emme

2.

et

ette

3.

ei

eivät

The forms for the imperative are formed from the root äl or el.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme, elkäämme

2.

älä, elä

älkäätte, elkäätte,

or älkää, elkää

The optative is formed similarly.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös or ellös

——

3.

älköön or elköön

älkööt or elkööt

There is also a form used in dubitative or conditional sentences.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

ellen

ellemme

2.

ellet

ellette

3.

ellei

elleivät

This form is used in composition with the present or conditional: minä tulen, ellei paha ilma estä, I will come if the bad weather does not stop me. Elleivät olisi kotona, in case they are not at home.

The negative present of an active verb is formed by prefixing this verb to the root, which is always closed by the aspiration.

Root tuo, to bring.

Sing.

Plur.

en tuo, I do not bring

emme tuo, we do not bring

et tuo, thou dost not bring

ette tuo, ye do not bring

ei tuo, he does not bring

eivät tuo, they do not bring

But the root repi makes—

Sing.

Plur.

en revi

emme revi

et revi

ette revi

ei revi

eivät revi

the root being closed by the aspiration, and consequently becoming revi by rule 35.

The negative imperfect is formed by prefixing the verb en, etc., to the nominative of participle II active. The participle takes the plur. inflexions in the plur.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tuonut

emme tuoneet

2.

et tuonut

ette tuoneet

3.

ei tuonut

eivät tuoneet

Or from the root repi—

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en repinyt

emme repineet

2.

et repinyt

ette repineet

3.

ei repinyt

eivät repineet

The negative of the concessive is formed in the same way by prefixing the negative verb to the root, to which is added the syllable -ne.

Saa, to receive; root for the concessive, saane, negative concessive.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saane

emme saane

2.

et saane

ette saane

3.

ei saane

eivät saane

In an exactly similar manner the conditional is formed by adding isi to the root, and prefixing the negative verb.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saisi

emme saisi

2.

et saisi

ette saisi

3.

ei saisi

eivät saisi

The negative imperative is formed by prefixing to the root of the verb (closed by the aspiration in the singular) the imperative forms of the negative verb given above. In the plur. ko (kö) is suffixed to the root of the verb to be negatived.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme saako

2.

älä saa

älkäätte saako

Similarly—

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme repikö

2.

älä revi

älkäätte repikö

The negative optative is formed by suffixing ko, kö, to the root, and employing before it the negative forms of the optative verb. The use of the suffix ko in the negative imperative shows how closely the two forms are allied.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös saako

——

3.

älköön saako

älkööt saako

The negative of the passive is similarly formed by prefixing the verb ei to the passive root—that is, to the root of the verb with the syllable ta (tä) added, but without the termination which characterises the affirmative passive. This root is closed by the aspiration, but the imperfect is formed with participle II, passive, e.g. roots saa, repi, tule (tul), passive roots saada, revitä, tulla.

Pres.

ei saada, ei revitä, ei tulla

Imp.

ei saatu, ei revitty, ei tultu

Conc.

ei saatane, ei revittäne, ei tultane

Cond.

ei saataisi, ei revittäisi, ei tultaisi

Opt.

älköön saatako, älköön revittäkö, älköön tultako

Imperative not used.

The Auxiliary Verb.

The conjugation of the positive auxiliary verb olla, to be, is as follows:—

Present.

Imperfect.

Sing.

Plur.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen

olemme

1.

olin

olimme

2.

olet

olette

2.

olit

olitte

3.

on

ovat

3.

oli

olivat

Concessive.

Conditional.

Sing.

Plur.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lienen

lienemme

1.

olisin

olisimme

2.

lienet

lienette

2.

olisit

olisitte

3.

lienee

lienevät

3.

olisi

olisivat

or ,

Sing.

Plur.

1.

ollen

ollemme

2.

ollet

ollette

3.

ollee

ollevat

Imperative.

Optative.

Sing.

Plur.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

olkaamme

2.

ollos

——

2.

ole

olkaa or olkaatte

3.

olkoon

olkoot

Infinitive.

I.

Part.

olla

III.

Gen.

oleman

Transl.

ollakse(ni)

In.

olemassa , etc.

II.

In.

ollessa

IV.

Nom.

oleminen

Instr.

ollen

Part.

olemista

V.

Ad.

olemaisillani

Participles.

Pres.

oleva

Perf.

ollut

Passive forms.—Indicative.

Pres.

ollaan

Perf.

on oltu

Imp.

oltiin

Plupf.

oli oltu

Concessive.

Conditional.

Simp.

oltaneen

Simp.

oltaisiin

Comp.

lienee oltu

Comp.

olisi oltu

Optative.

Infinitive.

oltakoon

II.

In.

oltaessa

III.

Gen.

oltaman

Participles.

Pres.

oltava

Perf.

oltu .

In poetry are found various contracted forms, mostly produced by the omission of l from the root. Present indicative 1. oon, 2. oot; plur. 1. oomme, 2. ootte. Conditional: oisin, oisit, oisi, oisimme, oisitte, oisivat. Concessive: lien, liet, lie. Passive form: liedään.

With the aid of this auxiliary and certain participles are formed the compound tenses of the Finnish verb. These are:—

(1) The perfect, formed with the present of the auxiliary and the nominative of participle II, which in the plur. takes the plural terminations, as is the case in all the other tenses: olen, olet, on saanut; olemme, olette, ovat saaneet, I, thou, he has received.

(2) The pluperfect, formed by prefixing the imperfect of the auxiliary to the same participle: olin, olit, oli saanut; olimme, olitte, olivat saaneet, I had received, etc.

(3) The compound concessive, formed by adding the conditional of the auxiliary to the same participle: lienen, lienet, lienee saanut; lienemme, lienette, lienevät saaneet, I may have received (il se peut que j’ai reçu).

(4) The compound conditional, formed by prefixing the conditional of the auxiliary to the same participle: olisin, olisit, olisi saanut; olisimme, olisitte, olisivat saaneet, I should have received, etc.

When these four tenses of the verb ‘to be’ are combined with participle I, they form a future, of which there may be four varieties:—

(1) Olen, etc., saava, I shall receive; (2) olin, etc., saava, I was about to receive; (3) lienen saava, perhaps I shall receive; (4) olisin saava, I might have received.

Though the plur. of these forms should grammatically be olemme saavat, which forms are employed in the literary language, yet in the spoken language the participle does not take the plural termination.

The compound tenses of the passive are formed by adding the tense of the verb olla to participle II, passive.

Perf.

on saatu

Plupf.

oli saatu

Comp. Conc.

lienee saatu

Comp. Cond.

olisi saatu

The negative forms for these tenses are formed by putting the auxiliary verb in the negative form, and keeping the participle as before. The negative forms of the auxiliary verb are:—

Present.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole

emme ole

2.

et ole

ette ole

3.

ei ole

eivät ole

Imperfect.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ollut

emme olleet

2.

et ollut

ette olleet

3.

ei ollut

eivät olleet

Concessive.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en liene

emme liene

2.

et liene

ette liene

3.

ei liene

eivät liene

Conditional.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en olisi

emme olisi

2.

et olisi

ette olisi

3.

ei olisi

eivät olisi

It is hoped that with the aid of the foregoing explanations the conjugation of a Finnish verb will be perfectly clear.

The verbs may be divided into three conjugations.

First Conjugation.

The characteristics of this conjugation are as follow:—

(a) The root always ends in a long vowel.

(b) There is no change of consonants.

(c) The third person sing. of the present tense is the simple root.

(d) The last vowel of the root is liable to changes before the i of the past tense and conditional.

(e) In the present passive, and in infinitive I the termination ta becomes da.

This conjugation includes:—

1. All monosyllabic roots. In participle I active they take either va (vä) or pa (pä).

2. Trisyllabic roots ending in oi or öi. These have only va (vä) in the participle I.

Monosyllabic verbs occasionally take the termination pi in the third person sing. present indicative, e.g. lyöpi, saapi. This is especially frequent in the dialect spoken about St. Petersburg.

The trisyllabic verbs ending in oi, öi, also frequently form their infinitive in ta, that is to say, the root also exists in a form ending in -tse. Haravoida is the infinitive from the root haravoi; haravoita, the infinitive from the derived root of the same meaning haravoitse.

Examples: saa, to receive; tuo, to bring.

Active Voice. Indicative Mood.

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

saan

saame

2.

saat

saatte

3.

saa

saavat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saa

emme saa

2.

et saa

ette saa

3.

ei saa

eivät saa

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

sain ( 3)

saimme

2.

sait

saitte

3.

sai

saivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saanut

emme saaneet

2.

et saanut

ette saaneet

3.

ei saanut

eivät saaneet

Perfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen saanut

olemme saaneet

2.

olet saanut

olette saaneet

3.

on saanut

ovat saaneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole saanut

emme ole saaneet

2.

et ole saanut

ette ole saaneet

3.

ei ole saanut

eivät ole saaneet

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olin saanut

olimme saaneet

2.

olit saanut

olitte saaneet

3.

oli saanut

olivat saaneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ollut saanut

emme olleet saaneet

2.

et ollut saanut

ette olleet saaneet

3.

ei ollut saanut

eivät ollet saaneet

Simple Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

saanen

saanemme

2.

saanet

saanette

3.

saanee

saanevat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saane

emme saane

2.

et saane

ette saane

3.

ei saane

eivät saane

Compound Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lienen saanut

lienemme saaneet

2.

lienet saanut

lienette saaneet

3.

lienee saanut

lienevät saaneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en liene saanut

emme liene saaneet

2.

et liene saanut

ette liene saaneet

3.

ei liene saanut

eivät liene saaneet

Simple Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

saisin

saisimme

2.

saisit

saisitte

3.

saisi

saisivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en saisi

emme saisi

2.

et saisi

ette saisi

3.

ei saisi

eivät saisi

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olisin saanut

olisimme saaneet

2.

olisit saanut

olisitte saaneet

3.

olisi saanut

olisivat saaneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en olisi saanut

emme olisi saaneet

2.

et olisi saanut

ette olisi saaneet

3.

ei olisi saanut

eivät olisi saaneet

First Future. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen saava (saapa)

olemme saava or saavat (pa)

2.

olet saava (pa)

olette saava or saavat (pa)

3.

on saava (pa)

ovat saava (pa)

Such forms as  ovat saavat are avoided on account

of the repetition of vat.

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole saava, or saapa

emme ole saava, or saavat

2.

et ole saava

ette ole saava

3.

ei ole saava

eivät ole saava

The other futures  olin saava, lienen saava, and

olisi saava are conjugated exactly similarly.

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

saakaamme

2.

saa

saakaa(tte)

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme saako

2.

älä saa

älkää saako

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

saaʻos

——

3.

saakoon

saakoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös saako

——

3.

älköön saako

älkööt saako

Infinitive.

I.

saada

Transl.

saadakse(ni)

II.

Iness.

saadessa

Instr.

saaden

III.

saama, used in nearly all the cases

IV.

Nom.

saaminen

Part.

saamista

V.

Adess. Plur.

saamaisilla(ni), (always with suffix ).

Participles.

I.

saapa or saava

II.

saanut

Passive Voice.

Present

Aff.

saadaan

Neg.

ei saada

Imperfect

Aff.

saatiin

Neg.

ei saatu

Perfect

Aff.

on saatu

Neg.

ei ole saatu

Pluperfect

Aff.

oli saatu

Neg.

ei oltu saatu, or, ei ollut saatu

Concessive

Aff.

saataneen

Neg.

ei saatane

Concess. Comp.

Aff.

lienee saatu

Neg.

ei liene saatu

Conditional

Aff.

saataisiin

Neg.

ei saataisi

Cond. Comp.

Aff.

olisi saatu

Neg.

ei olisi saatu

Optative

Aff.

saatakoon

Neg.

älköön saatako

Infinitive.  The only forms used are—

II.

Iness.

saataessa

III.

Instr.

saataman

Active Voice. Indicative Mood.

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tuon

tuomme

2.

tuot

tuotte

3.

tuo

tuovat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tuo

emme tuo

2.

et tuo

ette tuo

3.

ei tuo

eivät tuo

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

toin ( 4)

toimme

2.

toit

toitte

3.

toi

toivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tuonut

emme tuoneet

2.

et tuonut

ette tuoneet

3.

ei tuonut

eivät tuoneet

Perfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen tuonut

olemme tuoneet

2.

olet tuonut

olette tuoneet

3.

on tuonut

ovat tuoneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole tuonut

emme ole tuoneet

2.

et ole tuonut

ette ole tuoneet

3.

ei ole tuonut

eivät ole tuoneet

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olin tuonut

olimme tuoneet

2.

olit tuonut

olitte tuoneet

3.

oli tuonut

olivat tuoneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ollut tuonut

emme olleet tuoneet

2.

et ollut tuonut

ette olleet tuoneet

3.

ei ollut tuonut

eivät olleet tuoneet

Simple Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tuonen

tuonemme

2.

tuonet

tuonette

3.

tuonee

tuonevat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tuone

emme tuone

2.

et tuone

ette tuone

3.

ei tuone

eivät tuone

Compound Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lienen tuonut

lienemme tuoneet

2.

lienet tuonut

lienette tuoneet

3.

lienee tuonut

lienevät tuoneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en liene tuonut

emme liene tuoneet

2.

et liene tuonut

ette liene tuoneet

3.

ei liene tuonut

eivät liene tuoneet

Simple Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

toisin ( 4)

toisimme

2.

toisit

toisitte

3.

toisi

toisivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en toisi

emme toisi

2.

et toisi

ette toisi

3.

ei toisi

eivät toisi

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olisin tuonut

olisimme tuoneet

2.

olisit tuonut

olisitte tuoneet

3.

olisi tuonut

olisivat tuoneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en olisi tuonut

emme olisi tuoneet

2.

et olisi tuonut

ette olisi tuoneet

3.

ei olisi tuonut

eivät olisi tuoneet

First Future. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen tuova (tuopa )

olemme tuova or tuovat (pa)

2.

olet tuova (pa )

olette tuova or tuovat (pa)

3.

on tuova (pa )

ovat tuova (pa )

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole tuova or tuopa

emme ole tuova or tuovat

2.

et ole tuova

ette ole tuova

3.

ei ole tuova

eivät ole tuova

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

tuokaamme

2.

tuo

tuokaa(tte)

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme tuoko

2.

älä tuo

älkää tuoko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

tuoʻos

——

3.

tuokoon

tuokoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös tuoko

——

3.

älköön tuoko

älkööt tuoko

Infinitive.

I.

tuodaʻ

Transl.

tuodakse(ni)

II.

Iness.

tuodessa

Instr.

tuoden

III.

tuoma used in nearly all the cases

IV.

Nom.

tuominen

Part.

tuomista

V.

Adess. Plur.

tuomaisilla(ni) (always with suffix )

Participles.

I.

tuopa or tuova

II.

tuonut

Passive Voice

Present

Aff.

tuodaan

Neg.

ei tuoda

Imperfect

Aff.

tuotiin

Neg.

ei tuotu

Perfect

Aff.

on tuotu

Neg.

ei ole tuotu

Pluperfect

Aff.

oli tuotu

Neg.

ei oltu tuotu, or ei ollut tuotu

Concessive

Aff.

tuotaneen

Neg.

ei tuotane

Conces. Comp.

Aff.

lienee tuotu

Neg.

ei liene tuotu

Conditional

Aff.

tuotaisiin

Neg.

ei tuotaisi

Cond. Comp.

Aff.

olisi tuotu

Neg.

ei olisi tuotu

Optative

Aff.

tuotakoon

Neg.

älköön tuotako

Infinitive.  The only forms used are—

II.

Iness.

tuotaessa

III.

Instr.

tuotaman

Participles.

I.

saatava, tuotava

II.

saatu, tuotu

Similarly lyö, to strike, makes in the present lyön, lyöt, lyö, lyömme, lyötte, lyövät; imperfect löin (by rule 4); concessive lyönen; conditional löisin (4); imperative lyö, lyökäämme, lyökää; infinitives lyödä, lyödessä, lyömän, lyöminen, lyömäisilläni; participles lyövä and lyönyt; passive lyödään, etc.

So also satuloi, saddle, forms present indicative satuloin, satuloit, satuloi, satuloimme, satuloitte, satuloivat; imperfect satuloin (5); concessive satuloinen; conditional satuloisin; imperative satuloi; optative satuloiʻos; infinitives satuloida, satuloidessa, satuloiman, satuloiminen, satuloimaisillani; participles satuloiva, satuloinut; passive satuloidaan.

Second Conjugation.

The second conjugation has the following characteristics:—

(1) The root ends in a short vowel.

(2) The consonant at the beginning of the last syllable is liable to the usual changes, when that syllable becomes closed.

(3) In the third person sing. present indicative the final vowel is lengthened.

(4) The first infinitive has the termination a (ä).

(5) The root of the passive ends in tta (ttä), and hence the present passive in taan.

(6) The first participle active always ends in va (vä).

To this conjugation belong:—

A. All roots ending in o, ö, u, y.

B. All dissyllables ending in a, ä, and polysyllables ending in ta (tä) after h, l, n, r, s, t; heittä, to throw; tappa, to kill; armahta, to pity; sivalta, to strike; ymmärtä, to understand.

(1) In these verbs a or ä is always changed to e before the termination of the passive, kaata, kaadetaan.

(2) Before the i of the imperfect, polysyllables always reject a or ä, pelasta, pelasti, etc.

Dissyllabic verbs vary in their treatment of a, though ä is always rejected. If the vowel of the first syllable is o or u; then a is generally rejected. Otta, take, imperfect otti; muista, muisti. But if the vowel of the first syllable is a or e, the a of the last syllable generally becomes o; laula, lauloi, sing; anta, antoi, give. But a great number of verbs ending in ta, and having a in the first syllable, use both forms; ahtoi or ahti, blow; karttoi or kartti, to avoid; saattoi or saatti, to lead.

If a verb ending in lta, nta, or rta (or the corresponding forms in ä) elides the vowel before i, then t becomes s; kieltä, to deny, kielsi; kumarta, to adore, kumarsi, etc. The same change occurs after a long vowel in the forms löysi, found; tiesi, knew; taisi, knew how to; pyysi, asked; kaasi, threw down; huusi, shouted. Most verbs of this type, however, take ti, though some have double forms.

C. All verbs ending in i.

D. All dissyllables ending in ke, te, pe; e.g. luke, to read; lähte, go away; kylpe, to bath.

This e is elided before i, and t is sometimes changed to s; tunte, to feel, tunsi.

In infinitive II either the e of the root or that of the termination is changed to i, generally that of the root; lukiessa or lukeissa, but never lukeessa.

Examples of conjugation II:—Roots repi, to tear; luke, to read. The p of repi becomes v in a closed syllable, and the k of luke drops out (by rules 34 and 27).

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

revin

revimme

2.

revit

revitte

3.

repii

repivät

Negative.  (The root closed by the aspiration.)

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en revi

emme revi

2.

et revi

ette revi

3.

ei revi

eivät revi

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

revin

revimme

2.

revit

revitte

3.

repi

repivät

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en repinyt

emme repineet

2.

et repinyt

ette repineet

3.

ei repinyt

eivät repineet

Perfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen repinyt

olemme repineet

2.

olet repinyt

olette repineet

3.

on repinyt

ovat repineet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole repinyt

emme ole repineet

2.

et ole repinyt

ette ole repineet

3.

ei ole repinyt

eivät ole repineet

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olin repinyt

olimme repineet

2.

olit repinyt

olitte repineet

3.

oli repinyt

olivat repineet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ollut repinyt

emme olleet repineet

2.

et ollut repinyt

ette olleet repineet

3.

ei ollut repinyt

eivät olleet repineet

Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

repinen

repinemme

2.

repinet

repinette

3.

repinee

repinevät

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en repine

emme repine

2.

et repine

ette repine

3.

ei repine

eivät repine

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

1.

lienen repinyt

lienemme repineet

(The formation of the remaining persons will now be clear.)

Compound Conditional. Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en liene repinyt

emme liene repineet

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

repisin

repisimme

2.

repisit

repisitte

3.

repisi

repisivät

Negative.

1.

en repisi

emme repisi

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olisin repinyt

olisimme repineet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

en olisi repinyt

emme olisi repineet

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

repikäämme

2.

revi

repikää

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme repikö

2.

älä revi

älkää repikö

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

repiʻös

——

3.

repiköön

repikööt

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös repikö

——

3.

älköön repikö

älkööt repikö

Participles.

I.

repivä

II.

repinyt

Infinitives.

I.

repiä

Transl.

repiäksi

II.

Ines.

repiessä

Instr.

repien

III.

repimä , etc.

IV.

Nom.

repiminen

Part.

repimistä

V.

Adess.

repimäisillä(ni)

Passive.

Present

Aff.

revitään

Neg.

ei revitä

Imperfect

Aff.

revittiin

Neg.

ei revitty

Perfect

Aff.

on revitty

Neg.

ei ole revitty

Pluperfect

Aff.

oli revitty

Neg.

ei ollut revitty, or ei oltu revitty , etc.

Concessive

Aff.

revittäneen

Neg.

ei revittäne

Comp. Concess.

Aff.

lienee revitty

Neg.

ei liene revitty

Conditional

Aff.

revittäisiin

Neg.

ei revittäisi

Comp. Cond.

Aff.

olisi revitty

Neg.

ei olisi revitty

Optative

Aff.

revittäköön

Neg.

älköön revittäkö

Infin. II. Iness.

revittäessä

Participles.

I.

revittävä

II.

revitty

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

luen ( 28)

luemme

2.

luet

luette

3.

lukee

lukevat

Negative.  (The root closed by the aspiration.)

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en lue

emme lue

2.

et lue

ette lue

3.

ei lue

eivät lue

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

luin

luimme

2.

luit

luitte

3.

luki

lukivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en lukenut

emme lukeneet

2.

et lukenut

ette lukeneet

3.

ei lukenut

eivät lukeneet

Perfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olen lukenut

olemme lukeneet

2.

olet lukenut

olette lukeneet

3.

on lukenut

ovat lukeneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ole lukenut

emme ole lukeneet

2.

et ole lukenut

ette ole lukeneet

3.

ei ole lukenut

eivät ole lukeneet

Pluperfect.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olin lukenut

olimme lukeneet

2.

olit lukenut

olitte lukeneet

3.

oli lukenut

olivat lukeneet

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en ollut lukenut

emme olleet lukeneet

2.

et ollut lukenut

ette olleet lukeneet

3.

ei ollut lukenut

eivät olleet lukeneet

Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lukenen

lukenemme

2.

lukenet

lukenette

3.

lukenee

lukenevat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en lukene

emme lukene

2.

et lukene

ette lukene

3.

ei lukene

eivät lukene

Compound Concessive. Affirmative.

1.

lienen lukenut

lienemme lukeneet

(The formation of the remaining persons will now be clear.)

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en liene lukenut

emme liene lukeneet

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lukisin ( 14)

lukisimme

2.

lukisit

lukisitte

3.

lukisi

lukisivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en lukisi , etc.

emme lukisi , etc.

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

olisin lukenut , etc.

olisimme lukeneet , etc.

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

en olisi lukenut , etc.

emme olisi lukeneet , etc.

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

lukekaamme

2.

lue

lukekaa

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme lukeko

2.

älä lue

älkää lukeko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

lukeʻos

——

3.

lukekoon

lukekoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös lukeko

——

3.

älköön lukeko

älkööt lukeko

Participles.

I.

lukeva

II.

lukenut

Infinitives.

I.

lukea

Transl.

lukeaksi

II.

Ines.

lukiessa

Instr.

lukien

III.

lukema , etc.

IV.

Nom.

lukeminen

Part.

lukemista , etc.

V.

Adess.

lukemaisilla(ni)

Passive.

Present

Aff.

luetaan

Neg.

ei lueta

Imperfect

Aff.

luettiin

Neg.

ei luettu

Perfect

Aff.

on luettu

Neg.

ei ole luettu

Pluperfect

Aff.

oli luettu

Neg.

ei ollut luettu

Concessive

Aff.

luettaneen

Neg.

ei luettano

Comp. Cond.

Aff.

lienee luettu

Neg.

ei liene luettu

Conditional

Aff.

luettaisiin

Neg.

ei luettaisi

Comp. Cond.

Aff.

olisi luettu

Neg.

ei olisi luettu

Optative

Aff.

luettakoon

Neg.

älköön luettako

Infin. II. Iness.

luettaessa

Participles.

I.

luettava

II.

luettu

Similarly tako, to forge, makes the present taon, taot, takoo, taomme, taotte, takovat (k being lost by 28); imperfect taoin, taoit, takoi, taoimme, taoitte, takoivat; concessive takonen; conditional takoisin; imperative tao, takokaa; optative takoʻos, takokoon; infinitives takoa, takoessa, takoman, takominen, takomaisillani; participles takova, takonut; passive taotaan, etc.

Otta, to take; present otan (30), otat, ottaa, otamme, otatte, ottavat; imperfect otin, otit, otti, etc.; concessive ottanen; conditional ottaisin; imperative ota, ottakaamme; optative ottaos, ottakoon; infinitive ottaa, ottaessa, ottaman, ottaminen, ottamaisillani; participles ottava, ottanut; passive otetaan, etc.

Rakenta, to build, has in the present rakennan (31), rakennat, rakentaa, rakennamme, rakennatte, rakentavat; imperfect rakensin, rakensit, rakensi, etc.; passive rakennetaan, etc.

Ymmärtä, to understand, has similarly present (31) ymmärrän, ymmärrät, ymmärtää, etc.; imperfect ymmärsin; passive ymmärretään.

Pyrki, to strive, makes in the present pyrin, pyrit, pyrkii, pyrimme, pyritte, pyrkivät; imperfect pyrin; concessive pyrkinen; conditional pyrkisin; imperative pyri, pyrkikää; infinitive pyrkiä, etc.; passive pyritään, etc.

Tappa, to kill; present tapan, tapat, tappaa, etc.; imperfect tapoin, tapoit, tappoi, (7); concessive tappanen; conditional tappaisin; imperative tapa, tappakaamme; infinitive tappaa, tappaessa, tappaman, tappaminen, tappamaisillani; passive tapetaan (11).

Third Conjugation.

This conjugation comprises all verbs where the radical is liable to become closed by the loss of the final vowel, from which results a variety of consonantal changes. The verbs which are conjugated in this way fall into two classes.

I. Dissyllabic roots ending in le, ne, re, se, and all polysyllabic roots ending in the vowel e.

These verbs have the following characteristics.

A. The root is closed—

(1) Before t in infinitive I and II and in the passive verb;

(2) Before n in the conditional and participle II active;

(3) Before k in the imperative.

B. The root may then be further changed by assimilation—

(1) Before t in the infinitive. The roots tule, mene, pure make their infinitives tulta, mentä, purta, which become tulla, ennä, purra. But roots ending in se, like nouse, keep the infinitive in sta,—nousta; for st is not a group liable to assimilation. Further simplifications of consonantal groups may take place; for example, root syökse, to throw down, shortened to syöks, infinitive syökstä, becomes syöstä; root säkenöitse, infinitive säkenöits-tä becomes säkenöitä.

(2) The l, r, or t at the end of the closed root always assimilates the n of the conditional and of participle II active. The final s sometimes assimilates n; frequently in participle II, rarely in the conditional.

E.g. The roots tule, pure, kaitse, which in their closed forms become tul, pur, kait, form the conditionals tullee, purree, kainnee, and the participles tullut, purrut, kainnut. Nouse forms nousnee, rarely noussee and participle II nousnut or noussut.

C. A strong consonant at the beginning of the penultimate syllable in polysyllabic words is also liable to softening in forms derived from the closed root, but not in forms derived from the full root. Root rohkene, to dare; infinitive I rohjeta.

D. The final e is dropped in the imperfect.

E. The third sing. present has ee.

F. Trisyllabic roots in ne change n to t in the imperative, and have the infinitive I ending in ta preceded by a vowel so that ne is altogether lost; e.g. alene; imperative aletkoon; infinitive aleta.

G. The participle I active ends in va, vä.

In the verbs näke and teke k becomes h when the root loses its final vowel.

II. The second division of this conjugation comprises all trisyllabic roots ending in ta, tä preceded by a short vowel. Such are lupata, to promise; hakkata, to strike; pelkätä, to fear, etc.

In these verbs the following changes occur:—

A. In the present the t of the syllable ta (tä) is lost, and if the preceding vowel is a or ä, a long vowel is formed. That is, lupata, pelkätä become lupaa, pelkää. If the preceding vowel is o, ö, or e, the vowels may be assimilated into one long vowel or remain as they are. Putota, putoa, or putoo; kerketä, kerkeä, or kerkee; but if the vowel of the penultimate syllable is u, y, or i, such assimilation rarely occurs.

B. In the imperfect the final vowel is lost and t becomes s before the i which characterizes this tense; lupasin, etc.

C. The root is closed in the concessive, and the final t assimilated to the n; lupata-nen becomes luvat-nen (34), and then luvannen (30).

D. In the conditional the last syllable of the root is generally completely lost; lupaisi for lupata-isi; but a trace of it remains in such forms as kokoaisi (alternative for kokoisi) representing kokotaisi.

V. Similarly infinitives I, II, and the passive are formed from the closed root, and as the formative syllable ta is closed by the breathing, tt becomes t; that is to say, the full root lupata becomes the closed root luvat; to this is added the closed syllable taʻ, and luvattaʻ becomes luvata. Similarly the passive luvataan.

Examples.

Division I. Roots tule, to come; closed form tul. Nouse, to rise; closed form nous.

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tulen

tulemme

2.

tulet

tulette

3.

tulee

tulevat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tule

emme tule

2.

et tule

ette tule

3.

ei tule

eivät tule

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tulin

tulimme

2.

tulit

tulitte

3.

tuli

tulivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en tullut

emme tulleet

2.

et tullut

ette tulleet

3.

ei tullut

eivät tulleet

Perfect. Affirmative.

1.

olen tullut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ole tullut , etc.

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

1.

olin tullut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ollut tullut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tullen

tullemme

2.

tullet

tullette

3.

tullee

tullevat

Negative.

1.

en tulle , etc.

Comp. Concess. Affirmative.

1.

lienen tullut

Negative.

1.

en liene tullut

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

tulisin

tulisimme

2.

tulisit

tulisiitte

3.

tulisi

tulisivat

Negative.

1.

en tulisi , etc.

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

1.

olisin tullut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en olisi tullut , etc.

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

tulkaame

2.

tule

tulkaa

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme

2.

älä tule

älkää tulko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

tullos

——

3.

tulkoon

tulkoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös tulko

——

3.

älköön tulko

älkööt tulko

Infinitives.

I.

tulla

Transl.

tullakse(ni)

II.

tulle

Ines.

tullessa

Instr.

tullen

III.

tuleman

IV.

Nom.

tuleminen

Part.

tulemista

V.

tulemaisilla(ni)

Participles.

I.

tuleva

II.

tullut

Passive.

Pres.

Aff.

tullaan ,

Neg.

ei tulla

Impf.

Aff.

tultiin

Neg.

ei tultu

Conc.

Aff.

tultaneen

Neg.

ei tultane

Comp. Conc.

Aff.

lienee tultu

Neg.

ei liene tultu

Cond.

Aff.

tultaisiin

Neg.

ei tultaisi

Cond. Comp.

Aff.

olisi tultu

Neg.

ei olisi tultu

Opt.

Aff.

tultakoon

Neg.

älköön tultako

Participles.

I.

tultava

II.

tultu

Present. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

nousen

nousemme

2.

nouset

nousette

3.

nousee

nousevat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en nouse

emme nouse

2.

et nouse

ette nouse

3.

ei nouse

eivät nouse

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

nousin

nousimme

2.

nousit

nousitte

3.

nousi

nousivat

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

en nousnut or noussut[12]

emme nousneet

2.

et nousnut

ette nousneet

3.

ei nousnut

eivät nousneet

Perfect. Affirmative.

1.

olen nousnut, or noussut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ole nousnut or noussut , etc.

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

1.

olin nousnut or noussut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ollut nousnut or noussut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

1.

nousnen or noussen

nousnemme or noussemme

2.

nousnet or nousset

nousnette or noussette

3.

nousnee or noussee

nousnevat or noussevat

Negative.

1.

en nousne or nousse , etc.

Compound Concessive. Affirmative.

1.

lienen nousnut or noussut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en liene nousnut or noussut , etc.

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

nousisin

nousisimme

2.

nousisit

nousisitte

3.

nousisi

nousisivat

Negative.

1.

en nousisi , etc.

Compound Conditional. Affirmative.

1.

olisin nousnut or noussut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en olisi nousnut or noussut , etc.

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

nouskaamme

2.

nouse

nouskaa

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme nousko

2.

älä nouse

älkää nousko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

nouseos

——

3.

nouskoo

nouskoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

2.

ällös nousko

——

3.

älköön nousko

älkööt nousko

Infinitives.

I.

nousta

Transl.

noustakse(ni)

II.

nouste

Ines.

noustessa

Instr.

nousten

III.

nouseman , etc.

IV.

Nom.

nouseminen

Part.

nousemista

V.

nousemaisilla(ni)

Participles.

I.

nouseva

II.

nousnut, or noussut

Passive.

Pres.

Aff.

noustaan

Neg.

ei nousta

Impf.

Aff.

noustiin

Neg.

ei noustu

Conc.

Aff.

noustaneen

Neg.

ei noustane

Comp. Conc.

Aff.

lienee noustu

Neg.

ei liene noustu

Cond.

Aff.

noustaisiin

Neg.

ei noustaisi

Cond. Comp.

Aff.

olisi noustu

Neg.

ei olisi noustu

Imp.

Aff.

noustakoon

Neg.

älköön noustako

Participle.

I.

noustava

II.

noustu

Roots lupata, to promise; kokota, to collect.

Present Indicative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lupaan

lupaamme

2.

lupaat

lupaatte

3.

lupaa

lupaavat

Negative.

Sing.

1.

en lupaa

2.

et lupaa , etc.

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lupasin

lupasimme

2.

lupasit

lupasitte

3.

lupasi

lupasivat

Negative.

1.

en luvannut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

luvannen

luvannemme

2.

luvannet

luvannette

3.

luvannee

luvannevat

Negative.

1.

en luvanne , etc.

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

lupaisin

lupaisimme

2.

lupaisit

lupaisitte

3.

lupaisi

lupaisivat

Compound tenses.

Perfect. Affirmative.

1.

olen luvannut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ole luvannut , etc.

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

1.

olin luvannut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ollut luvannut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

1.

lienen luvannut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en liene luvannut , etc.

Conditional. Affirmative.

1.

olisin luvannut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en olisi luvannut , etc.

Futures. Affirmative.

I.

olen lupaava

II.

olin lupaava

III.

lienen lupaava

IV.

olisin lupaava

Negative.

en ole lupaava , etc.

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

luvatkaamme

2.

lupaa

luvatkaa

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme luvatko

2.

älä lupaa

älkää luvatko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

luvatkoon

2.

luvatkos

luvatkoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älköön luvatko

2.

ällös luvatko

älkööt luvatko

Infinitives.

I.

luvata

luvatakse(ni)

II.

luvatessa

luvaten

III.

lupaama , etc.

IV.

lupaaminen

lupaamista

V.

lupaamaisilla

Participles.

lupaava

luvannut

Passive.

Ind. Pres.

Aff.

luvataan

Neg.

ei luvata

Imp.

Aff.

luvattiin

Neg.

ei luvattu

Conc.

Aff.

luvattaneen

Neg.

ei luvattane

Cond.

Aff.

luvattaisiin

Neg.

ei luvattaisi

Imp.

Aff.

luvattakaan

Neg.

älkään luvattako

Opt.

Aff.

luvattakoon

Neg.

älköön luvattako

Infinitives.

II.

luvattesa

III.

luvattaman

Participles.

Present

luvattava

Past

luvattu

Present Indicative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

kokoan or kokoon

kokoamme or kokoomme

2.

kokoat or kokoot

kokoatte or kokootte

3.

kokoaa or kokoo

kokoavat or kokoovat

Negative.

1.

en kokoa or en kokoo

2.

et kokoa or et kokoo

3.

ei kokoa

Imperfect. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

kokosin

kokosimme

2.

kokosit

kokositte

3.

kokosi

kokosivat

Negative.

1.

en koonnut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

koonnen ( 28)

koonnemme

2.

koonnet

koonnette

3.

koonnee

koonnevat

Negative.

1.

en koonne , etc.

Conditional. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

kokoaisin or kokoisin

kokoaisimme or kokoisimme

2.

kokoaisit or kokoisit

kokoaisitte or kokoisitte

3.

kokoaisi or kokoisi

kokoaisivat or kokoisivat

Negative.

1.

en kokoaisi or en kokoisi , etc.

Compound tenses.

Perfect. Affirmative.

1.

olen koonnut ( 28), etc.

Negative.

1.

en ole koonnut , etc.

Pluperfect. Affirmative.

1.

olin koonnut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en ollut koonnut , etc.

Concessive. Affirmative.

1.

lienen koonnut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en liene koonnut , etc.

Conditional. Affirmative.

1.

olisin koonnut , etc.

Negative.

1.

en olisi koonnut , etc.

Futures. Affirmative.

I.

olen kokoava

II.

olin kokoava

III.

lienen kokoava

IV.

olisin kokoava

Imperative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

kootkaamme

2.

kokoa or kokoo

kootkaa

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älkäämme kootko

2.

älä kokoa or kokoo

älkää kootko

Optative. Affirmative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

kootkoon

2.

kootkos

kootkoot

Negative.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

——

älköön kootko

2.

ällös kootko

älkööt kootko

Infinitives.

I.

koota

kootakse(ni)

II.

kootessa

kooten

III.

kokoama or kokooma , etc.

IV.

kokoaminen or kokoominen

kokoamista or kokoomista

V.

kokoamaisilla or kokoomaisilla

Participles.

Present

kokoava or kokoova

Past

koonnut

Passive.

Indic. Pres.

Aff.

kootaan

Neg.

ei koota

Impf.

Aff.

koottiin

Neg.

ei koottu

Conc.

Aff.

koottaneen

Neg.

ei koottane

Cond.

Aff.

koottaisiin

Neg.

ei koottaisi

Imp.

Aff.

koottakaan

Opt.

Aff.

koottakoon

Neg.

älköön koottako

Infinitives.

II.

koottaessa

III.

koottaman

Participles.

Present

koottava

Past

koottu

Other examples: root rohkene, to dare.

Pres.

rohkenen, rohkenet, rohkenee

Impf.

rohkenin

Conc.

rohjennen, rohjennet

Cond.

rohkenisin

Imp.

rohkene, rohjetkaa ( 45)

Inf.

rohjeta, rohjete, rohkenema, rohkenemisen, rohkenemaisillani

Part.

rohkeneva, rohjennut

Pass.

rohjetaan

Root alene, to sink.

Pres.

alenen

Impf.

alenin

Conc.

alennen

Cond.

alenisin

Imp.

alene, aletkaa ( 45)

Inf.

aleta, alete, alenema, aleneminen, alenemaisellani

Pass.

aletaan

Root syökse, to cast.

Pres.

syöksen

Imp.

syöksin

Conc.

syösnen ( 1)

Cond.

syöksisin

Imp.

syökse, syöskää

Inf.

syöstä (1), syöste, syöksemä, syökseminen, syöksemäisilläni

Part.

syöksevä, syösnyt

Pass.

syöstään

Root säkenöitse, to glitter.

Pres.

säkenöitsen

Imp.

säkenöitsin

Conc.

säkenöinnen (1 &  44)

Cond.

säkenöitsisin

Imp.

sökenöitse, säkenöitkää

Inf.

säkenöitä (1), säkinöite, säkinöitsemä,

säkenöitseminen, säkenöitsemäisilläni .

Part.

säkenöitsevä, säkenöinnyt

Pass.

säkenöitään

Root näke, to see.

Pres.

näen (28), näet, näkee, näemme, näette, näkevät

Inf.

näin, näit, näki, näimme, näitte, näkivät

Conc.

nähnen ( 41)

Cond.

näkisin

Imp.

näe (28), nähkää ( 41)

Inf.

nähdä, nähde, näkemä, näkeminen, näkemäisilläni

Part.

näkevä, nähnyt

Pass.

nähdään

Part.

nähty

Reflexive Verbs.

Under this name are comprised a great number of verbal forms, formed by adding certain suffixes to the simple transitive root, many of which are not used in ordinary written and spoken Finnish.

A. Reflexive verbs are formed by adding to the root the suffixes utu, yty, or untu, ynty. For instance, anta, to give, makes antautua or antauntua; teke, to do, tekeytyä or tekeyntyä. The u or y may be assimilated to the last vowel of the root, which gives us forms like antaantua, tekeentyä. These verbs are conjugated quite regularly.

B. This suffix is also found in the shorter form u, y. Antaa, antauta; löytää, to find, löytyä, to be found; muuttaa, to change (act), muuttua, to change oneself.

These verbs generally present some peculiarities in their conjugation.

(1) They usually have the old ending pi in the 3d sing. indicative present; antauupi, but antau is also found.

(2) The imperfect ends in si; antausin, antausit, antausi, etc. This s is the remains of an original t, showing that the termination u is only short for utu.

(3) The same t is preserved in the infinitive and passive—antauta, antautaan.

C. In the Kalevala and the Karelian dialect are found a great quantity of more or less irregular reflexive forms, which are often explained by supposing that the reflexive pronoun itse is added to the verb, and then weakened in various ways to ihe, ite, ik, k, etc. But this explanation is very doubtful.

For example. From muuttaa, to change, comes the form muuttain, I change myself.

Sing.

Plur.

1.

muuttain

muuttaimme

2.

muuttait

muttaitte

3.

muuttaikse, or muuttaihe

muuttaivat

The termination kse or ihe for the third person sing. is characteristic of these verbs. We also find the termination me for the first person sing., te for the second, and se or set for the third.

The concessive is muuttainnen, and the conditional is muuttaisisin, etc. The imperative and optative muuttaitkaan, muuttaitkoon[13].

The Formation of Verbs.

Verbs are either primitive, that is to say, they consist of a simple root, to which are added the various modal and personal terminations, or they are derivative, that is to say, besides these terminations some formative syllable is added to the root, such as ta, ele, aise. It is not easy to assign a precise meaning to all of these terminations, particularly to the commoner, which are used in many and not very definite senses.

Simple roots are either transitive or intransitive in their meaning.

Derivative transitive verbs are formed with the following suffixes, which, however, are sometimes also found in verbs of neuter signification.

(1) ta, tä, which must not be confounded with the ta of the first infinitive, is added to verbal roots ending in e, which is rejected.

päästää, to let go, but päästä, intransitive. (N.B. The first verb is for päästätä, the second for pääsetä, so that the t of the latter belongs to the termination of the infinitive, but the t of the latter to the stem). Paksuntaa, to thicken, but paksuta, to grow thick; peljättää, to frighten, but peljätä, to fear; viertää, to roll down, transitive or intransitive, but vierrä only intransitive.

(2) tta, ttä, is added chiefly to roots ending in u or y which are not rejected. Juottaa, to give to drink (juoda, to drink); käyttää, to use (from käydä); menettää, to cause to go or lose (mennä, to go); näyttää, to show (nähdä, to see); tuottaa, to cause to bring, to get (tuoda, to bring); kuolettaa, to kill (kuolla, to die).

(3) utta, yttä, is added mostly to polysyllabic roots: kävelyttää, to make walk; epäilyttää, to make doubt; huomauttaa, to make observed; liikuttaa, to move, trans. (liikkua, intrans.).

Reflexive neuter verbs (vide p. 109) are formed with the following suffixes:—

(1) u or y, added chiefly to dissyllabic roots ending in a and e, which are rejected, and to polysyllables in ta and oitse:—löytyä, to be found, to exist (löytää, to find); tuntua, to be felt (tuntea, to feel); muuttua, to change, intransitive (muuttaa, to change, trans.); täytyä, to be sufficient or necessary (täyttää, transitive); rakastua, to be in love with (rakastaa, to love, transitive); kuulua, to be heard (kuulla, to hear).

(2) untu, ynty, shortened into utu, yty:—antauntua, antautua, or antauta, to give oneself up (antaa, to give); jakauntua, jakaantua, jakautua, or jakauta, to be divided (jakaa, to divide); kääriytyä, to be involved (kääriä); vetäytyä, to retire (vetää).

There is also a suffix pu, py, used to form a few words of intransitive signification:—joupua, to get drunk (juoda, to drink); syöpyä, to eat one’s fill (syödä, to eat); jääpyä, to remain behind (jäädä, to remain); saapua, to arrive (from saada, cf. ‘se rendre’). Luopua, vaipua, and viipyä seem to be formed with the same suffix.

Frequentative verbs are formed with the suffixes ele, ksi, and nta, either separately or combined. It is often hard to determine the exact force of these suffixes. Sometimes they signify a repeated or prolonged action, sometimes they form a kind of verbal diminutive, expressing an action slightly or gently performed, sometimes there is no real difference between the meanings of the original and derived verbs.

(1) ele is added mostly to dissyllabic roots ending in a, which is lost before the suffix. The first infinitive ends in ella, and the verb is conjugated after the third conjugation, e.g. kysellä, to ask often (Russian спрашивать), from kysyä, to ask (Russian спросить); katsella, to observe, or regard, from katsoa, to look; ellellä, to live, from elää; hypellä, to jump (попрыгивать), from hypätä (прыгать).

(2) ksi is added to the dissyllabic roots, especially to those ending in e. a and ä become e before this suffix. kuljeksia, to wander, from kulkea, to go; eleksiä, to live, from elää; anneksia, from antaa, to give.

The termination nta is rarely found alone, but ksenta, ksentele, and ntele occur, and ksele is a frequentative form. Käyskellä, to wander, from käydä, to go; saneskella (поговорить) from sanoa, kuljeskella, from kulkea.

Instantaneous or semelfactive verbs. These, when they have their strict significance, denote an action done once or suddenly, and correspond to Russian forms in -нуть. The terminations which have this sense are—

(1) ahta, added to dissyllabic verbs which lose their last vowel. Kilijahtaa, to give a cry (воскликнуть); liikahtaa (liikkua), to make a movement (двинуться); elähtää, to come to life (but also to live, to grow old).

(2) aise, added to dissyllables in e, i, o, and u, which fall out before the termination. kiljaista, to give a cry; puraista, to give a bite (purra, to bite); halkaista, to split.

Verbal suffixes are also added to nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, the verbs so formed having various meanings which can be easily illustrated from English, where verbs are often formed from substantives or adjectives with or without a suffix being added. In Finnish such derived verbs have been divided into a variety of categories; such as—(1) Instructive, which imply the provision of something with the object denoted by the noun, cf. the English to butter, to arm. (2) Factive, denoting the conversion of something into the object or quality denoted by the original word, cf. English to blacken. (3) Operative, implying the use or action of the substantive, cf. English to drop, to boat. (4) Essive, denoting the existence or activity of something in the capacity of the noun, cf. English to idle.

These classes of verbs are not denoted by special suffixes, but the syllables ta, i, itse, tta, sta are added to form verbs which may have any of these significations.

Ta is added to monosyllables and roots which are susceptible of being closed, likewise to trisyllables ending in ra, la, na. Many of the verbs formed with this affix end in sta; but the s belongs to the root, not to the suffix. Examples—perustaa, to found (perus, a foundation), vaatettaa, to clothe (vaate-); veistää, to cut (veitse, a knife); poistaa, to drive away (pois); yltää, to reach (yli); kumartaa, to bow (kumara); kiirehtää, to hurry (kiire); sairastaa, to be ill (sairas).

This termination sometimes becomes a, the t being lost, e.g. harjata, to comb; kullata, to gild. Here the ta is of course the termination of the infinitive.

Roots ending in eʻ with the aspiration generally suffix ti and not ta, though sometimes both forms are found. The aspiration becomes h before the t, vaatehtia, to clothe; kiirehtiä, to hurry; tervehtiä, to salute, etc.

The termination i is added to dissyllables ending in ä, e, i, and also to such dissyllables ending in a as have o or u as their first vowel, whereas dissyllables in a with a, e, or i for their first vowel, suffix o. This rule is analogous to no. 7, and is prompted by a desire to avoid the repetition of the same in succeeding syllables. In all cases the final vowel of the stem is elided before the termination. Examples—kukkia, to flower (kukka); sotia, to fight (sota); munia, to lay eggs (muna); huolia, to care (huoli); but sanoa, to speak (sana); neuloa, to sew (neula); leipoa, to bake (leipä).

The termination itse is added chiefly to trisyllabic roots, but also to dissyllables. In trisyllabic words the final a and ä of stems always become o and ö before i; in dissyllables the final vowel sometimes undergoes this change and is sometimes rejected. The verbs so formed are conjugated according to conjugation III, so that the infinitive ends in oita for oitse. This termination is closely related to the termination i, so much so that almost all the words formed with it have double forms. For example, from satula, a saddle, is formed either the verbal stem satuloi; infinitive satuloida; present satuloin; or the stem satuloitse; infinitive satuloita; present satuloitsen.

Examples of verbs: iloita, to be glad (ilo); hedelmöitä, to give fruit (hedelmä); askaroita, to work (askere); jumaloita (jumala), to deify; palmikoita, to twine (palmikko).

tta, itta. These terminations are added to monosyllables, to dissyllables ending in i, o (ö), and u (y), and trisyllables in a (ä) (which always changes to o) and e. Dissyllabic and polysyllabic words prefer the termination without i. This suffix is the same as that used to form transitive verbs from intransitive, and a large proportion of the verbs which are derived from nouns by its addition are factitive. Päättää, to finish (päättyä, to end, intransitive); jäättää, to freeze; kirjoittaa, to write; lahjoittaa, to make a present; hyvittää, to use well; syyttää, to accuse; kunnioittaa, to honour.

sta or ista is added generally to dissyllabic stems, whose final vowel is lost before i, though a sometimes becomes o. Metsästää, to hunt; kärjestää, to sharpen; kalastaa, to fish; ylistää, to extol; yhdistää, to unite; äänestää, to express an opinion, to vote.

Another class of verbs are called translative, and express a change to the state denoted by the noun from which the verb is formed.

Such are formed with the following terminations:—

(1) ne is added chiefly to dissyllables, also to trisyllables in ea (eä), whose final a (ä), and sometimes o, changes to e. The verb so formed is conjugated according to the third conjugation, and the syllable ne altogether disappears in the infinitive, which ends in eta. Aleta (present alenen) to sink down; musteta, to become black; lähetä, to draw near; pimetä, to grow dark.

(2) a or ä is added mostly to dissyllabic roots ending in i, which changes to e; if added to roots ending in a, this vowel generally becomes o. It is also added to trisyllables in ea (eä). Soeta, to become blind (sokea).

A small number of verbs are formed from adjectives by the addition of the suffix ksi or ksu, before which a and ä are often changed to e. These verbs, sometimes called censitive, express the light in which something is regarded. Halveksia, to hold cheap (halpa); hyveksiä or hyväksyä, to find good, to approve; pahaksua or paheksia, to find bad, to be angry at; väheksiä or vähäksyä, to find small or despise.

POSTPOSITIONS.

The place of prepositions in other languages is supplied by postpositions, that is to say, by words which follow a substantive (mostly in the genitive or partitive case). These words are not, however, really analogous to the indeclinable prepositions of other languages; they are cases of substantives, some of which are found used in the nominative case. For instance, ali (not used as a substantive) means a place under something else. From this are formed the cases alla, alle, alta, etc., which are used as prepositions, e.g. kissa on pöydän alla, the cat is in the place under the table, that is, under the table; kissa meni pöydän alle, the cat went to the place under the table, that is, under the table; kissa tuli pöydän alta, the cat came from the place under the table, or from under the table. A list of these substantives, which are mostly fragmentary in their declensions, is given in the Syntax. A few of them precede the substantive which they govern and can hence be called prepositions. Such words mostly require that the substantive which they govern should be in the partitive, whereas postpositions follow a word in the genitive.

In these words we may distinguish two classes:—

A. Those which are used as postpositions only in one case, and which have become more or less petrified. Such are ennen, before; ilman, without; kanssa, with; varten, for.

B. Those which are used in several cases. Some of these are ordinary substantives used in the nominative and other cases. The postpositional usage of such words corresponds to such English phrases as ‘in the middle of.’ Such are joukko, a crowd; (joukossa, joukkoon); jälki, a footstep (jälessä, jälestä, jälkeen); kohta, a place (kohdalla, kohdalta, kohdalle, kohtaan); puoli, a half (puolessa, puolesta, puolella, puolelta, puoleen); pää, a head (päässä, päästä, päähän, päällä, päälle, päältä).

Others, though clearly substantives in their form, are not used except as particles:—yli, ylitse, yllä, ylle, yltä; ympäri, ympärillä, ympäriltä, ympärille; alla, alta, alle; edessä, edestä, eteen, edellä, edeltä, edelle; luota, luona, luo; ohessa, ohesta, oheen, ohitse; myötä, myöten, and others.

THE ADVERB.

There are two classes of adverbs in Finnish: (1) Independent adverbs, (2) Adverbial suffixes.

The independent adverbs are often cases of nouns which differ from postpositions only in this, that they are used absolutely, and not in connection with another word. Thus in käydä kaupungin ympäri, to go round the town, ympäri may be described as a postposition, while in käydä ympäri, where it stands alone and absolute, it is an adverb. Similarly in kulkea puutarhan ohitse, to pass by the garden, ohitse is a postposition, but in pian se menee ohitse, it will soon be over, it is an adverb.

These independent adverbs are formed in different ways:—

A. Some are primitive words, whose grammatical formation is not clear, e.g. nyt, now; heti, soon; aina, always; vielä, yet; koska, when.

B. A second class is formed by the addition of certain suffixes.

(1) Adverbs are formed from adjectives by the addition of sti, perhaps related to the suffix of the elative, sta, e.g. hywä, good, hywästi, well; tietty, known; tietysti, certainly. lti is also found (cf. ablative lta); laajalti, widely, e.g. se on laajalti tunnettu, he is widely known; paksulta, much or thickly; syvältä, deeply.

(2) ten or ti (cf. prolative tse) is added to pronouns. Täten, so; miten, how; siten, so; muuten, otherwise; peräti, entirely.

(3) isin (instructive) is added to nouns. Maisin, by land; takaisin, back.

(4) nne is added to pronouns, and forms adverbs of direction. Sinne, thither; tänne, hither; minne, whither; jonnekunne, to somewhere or other.

(5) tusten, tuksin, ksuttain, kkain, are used to form adverbs expressing a mutual relation. Rinnatusten, side by side; käsityksin, hand in hand; peräksyttäin or peräkkäin, one behind the other.

(6) oin, or sometimes ain (probably from ajoin, aika, time), is added to the adessive case of pronouns to form temporal adverbs. Silloin, then; milloin, when; muinoin, formerly.

C. Various cases of nouns are used as adverbs:—

Nominative—E.g. kohta, soon; kyllä, enough.

Accusative or genitive—kauan, long; paljon, much.

Partitive—ulkoa, outside; salaa, secretly.

Inessive—tässä, here; missä, where; yhdessä, together; pystyssä, straight, upright.

Elative—tästä, hence; mistä, whence; ainoastaan or ainoastansa, only.

Illative—yhteen, together; tarkkaan, accurately.

Adessive—tuolla, siellä, there; kaikkialla, everywhere.

Ablative—kaikkialta, from all sides; muualta, from another place.

Allative—uudelleen, anew; verkalleen, gradually.

Essive—ulkona, outside; kotona, at home; huomenna, to-morrow; kaukana, far.

Translative, where kse is generally abbreviated to s,—alas, below; ulos, without; myös, also.

Abessive, where tta becomes ti,—ääneti, silently; huoleti, without care.

Instructive—niin, so; kuin, how; tosin, truly; harvoin, rarely; kaksittain, two at a time.

The second infinitive is also used adverbially in the instructive, nimittäin (for en), that is to say.

Adverbs are also found in the comparative and superlative degree, and are then in the essive, partitive, and translative cases, or adessive, ablative, and allative. The termination ksi of the translative often sinks to s, or merely the aspirate. Likempänä, nearer; likempää, likemmäksi (-mmäs or -mmaʻ), likemmällä, likemmältä, etc.

The adverbial suffixes are added to the end of other words. The principal are—

Ko, kö, which gives an interrogative meaning to the word to which it is affixed, like ли in Russian.

Han, hän, pa, pä, have a strengthening or affirmative force.

Ki, kin, have a copulative sense,—minäkin, I too.

CONJUNCTIONS.

According to their signification conjunctions may be divided into—

(a) Copulative—ja, ynnä, and sekä, also; sekä ... että, both ... and; ka, kä (enclitic), and.

(b) Disjunctive—eli, tahi, tai, taikka, or; joko ... tai, either ... or.

(c) Adversative—mutta, vaan, but; kuitenkin, toki, however.

(d) Inferential—sentähden, siksi, therefore; siis, niin-muodoin, consequently; niin, so, accordingly.

(e) Causal—sillä, for; kun, koska, because.

(f) Comparative—kuin, than; ikäänkuin, as, if.

(g) Temporal—kun, when; jahka, heti kuin, as soon as; ennenkuin, before that; sittenkuin, after that.

(h) Final and Consecutive—että, jotta, that.

(i) Conditional—jos, if.

(j) Concessive—vaikka, jos, kohta, even if.

(k) Interrogative—ko, kö (enclitic), tokko, josko, vai, is it ... or (like the Latin ‘utrum’ ... ‘an’).

It will be noticed that these conjunctions are in great part merely cases of pronouns or adjectives, e.g. sentähden, kuin, sillä. Ynnä appears to be a contracted essive from yksi; and ja and toki to be borrowed words.

INTERJECTIONS.

1. Of joy—aha, ahaa, hei.

2. Laughter—haha, hihi.

3. Grief—ai, aiai, voi, oi, voivoi.

4. Mockery—ähä, kutti, piti, piti-piti.

5. Astonishment—no, noh, ha, kah, kas.

6. Disgust—hyi, hyihyi, ui, uiui.

SYNTAX.

Finnish sentences are formed of the same elements as those found in other European languages—subjects, predicates, objects, attributes, etc.; but, as the simplest phrases offer certain peculiarities, it is well, before analysing the use of the various forms, to give some general rules.

The Subject.

I. The Subject is in the nominative case if it is total, that is to say, if something is predicated of the whole of the subject. Thus, ihmiset kuolevat, men die, because the verb applies to the whole race of men; lapset tulevat, the children come, that is to say, all the children in question. Personal pronouns and a substantive in the singular always are in the nominative, when subject to a sentence. In other words, the subject is put in the nominative, (1) when the proposition is universal. Ihmiset kuolevat, men die; linnut lentävät, birds fly. (2) When it is preceded by the definite article or other determinative adjective in English. Sotamiehet läksivät, the soldiers set out; nämät pojat olevat ahkerat, these boys are industrious. (3) When the subject is a single definite substantive or pronoun, which is really the same as the case of an universal proposition.

II. But the subject is put in the partitive case, if something is predicated, not of its whole extent, but of part of it. Thus, one says viini on hyvää, wine is good; viini on pöydällä, the wine is on the table; but viiniä on pöydällä, there is some wine on the table. Similarly, miehet tulevat, the men are coming; but miehiä tulee, some men are coming.

It is to be noticed—

(1) That in negative phrases, where the verb is ei ole, ei näy, ei kuulu, ei tunnu, etc. (which are generally rendered in English by such phrases as ‘there is no,’ or ‘there is not’), the subject is always in the partitive, e.g. siellä ei ole ketään, there is nobody there; tässä joessa ei ole kaloja, there are no fish in this river.

(2) The partitive can only be the subject to an intransitive verb, because the mere fact of any word being the subject to a transitive verb implies that the whole or a definite part of the subject is regarded as acting. Thus, one can say, varkaita tuli talooni, some thieves came into my house; but some thieves stole my things must be rendered by varkaat (or jotkut varkaat) varastivat tavarani.

The subject can be altogether omitted if it is a pronoun of the first or second person, and also in certain impersonal expressions, like tuulee, it is windy. In such sentences as on mahdotonta tehdä sitä, it is impossible to do this, the verbal noun is to be regarded as the subject.

Such sentences as one says, or people say, where the subject is indefinite, are expressed in Finnish either by the passive verb (v. p. 181), or by the third person plural, no noun or pronoun being employed to represent the subject. Sanovat pääskysten jo tulleen, they say the swallows have already come; Venäjällä hakkaavat paljo metsää, they cut a great deal of wood in Russia.

The third person sing. is also used in this sense: kesällä elää vaikka ilmalla, in summer one can live easily (literally, on air); tekee minkän jaksaa, one does as much work as one can.

The second person sing. is also used in this impersonal sense, much as in Russian. Kävelet kadulla, et näe mitään, mutta yht’äkkiä putoat kuopaan, one walks along the street, sees nothing, and suddenly tumbles into a hole.

The Predicate.

The verb of a sentence usually agrees in number with the subject, if the latter is in the nominative. But

(1) If the subject is in the partitive, either sing. or plural, the verb is always in the sing. The real subject of the verb in such cases is not the partitive itself, but such a word as joukko, paljo, or vähä understood before it.

(2) If the subject is a noun with a numeral (which in Finnish requires the partitive after it), the verb is also in the singular.

(3) When the verb olla is used with the adessive in the construction rendered by the verb ‘have’ in English, it always remains in the 3rd sing., no matter what the subject may be.

(4) In proverbs, the Kalevala, and popular speech generally, a singular verb is very frequently found with a plur. nominative. Such an irregularity is clearly rendered much easier and less glaring by the analogy of the cases quoted above.

The verb olla, to be, is sometimes omitted, especially in proverbial phrases.

Oma maa mansikka, muu maa mustikka, one’s own land is a strawberry, foreign lands are only blackberries. Ei pyyssä kahden jakoa, a partridge is not enough for two.

If the predicate takes the form of an auxiliary with a noun or adjective, this latter may be put in several cases.

I. In the nominative, when the complement expresses a quality inherent in the subject, without any reference to other things.

II. But it is put in the partitive if the subject is regarded as referred to a class in common with which the subject shares the quality in question.

Thus, veitset ovat terevät means these knives, or the knives are sharp; but veitset ovat teräviä means knives are sharp, or belong to the class of sharp things. Kivi on kova, the stone is hard, i.e. not a soft stone; kivi on kovaa, stone is a hard substance.

It is noticeable that—

(a) If the subject is in the sing., and denotes a living being, the complement must be in the nominative; one must say ihminen on kuolevainen, not kuolevaista.

(b) If the subject denotes a part of the body, the complement must be also in the nominative: Hiukset ovat mustat, the hair is black. Kädet ovat tarpeelliset, hands are necessary.

III. The complement is put in the essive if it denotes the state in which a thing is at a given time. Thus, isäni on kipeänä, my father is (now) ill; isäni on kipeä, my father is an invalid. Hän on pappi, he is a clergyman; but hän on jo kauan ollut pappina, he has long been a clergyman. Suomenmaa on osa Venäjän valtakuntaa, Finland is a part of the Russian empire; but tähän vuosisataan asti Suomenmaa oli osana Ruotsin valtakunnasta, till the beginning of this century Finland formed part of the kingdom of Sweden. Often there is little difference between the nominative and essive. Thus one can say either sydän on suruja täysi, or täynnä, the heart is full of woe; but täynnä gives a more precise and literal idea of fullness than täysi.

IV. With the other auxiliaries, signifying to become, or pass into a state (tulla, ruveta, muuttua, etc.), the complement is put in the translative. Ilma muuttuu lämpimäksi, the weather grows warm. Poika rupesi palvelijaksi, the boy began to be a servant. Ukko käy heikoksi, the old man gets weak. Hän joutui työmieheksi, he became a workman.

Such sentences as it is impossible to go, or it is necessary for you to go, may be rendered in Finnish as mahdotonta on mennä, or tarpeellista on että menette; but in both cases the real subject is the infinitive, or the sentence with että which replaces it.

In such sentences the adjective, combined with the verb olla, can be put either in the partitive or in the nominative; but it is very hard, not only to give rules for the employment of the two cases, but even to state the exact difference of meaning between them. As has been seen above, kivi on kova means the stone is hard, but kivi on kovaa, the stone belongs to the class of hard things. The same distinction appears to prevail in the case under consideration, but, as the difference is very subtle, it is not surprising that it is often hard to trace. On the whole, the partitive is more usual, because the use of the nominative implies, strictly speaking, that the subject and the complement are co-extensive. But the nominative is more definite, inasmuch as it vaguely implies the existence of particular personal or temporal conditions. Thus, parasta on mennä is the equivalent of it is best to go; and it is perfectly logical to use the partitive, as clearly it is not meant that the terms going and best are co-extensive. But paras on mennä means rather the best thing for us under the circumstances is to go; and in this case the use of the nominative is also logical, because the two terms are co-extensive. It can be easily imagined that with so slight a distinction the nominative and partitive are used almost indifferently in most cases. Thus, it is equally correct to say on surkea nähdä sinua tuossa tilassa, or on surkeata, it is sad to see you in this position. But it is noticeable that—

(1) Parempi and hyvä are always used in the nominative. Parempi on odottaa, it is better to wait. Hyvä on olla terveenä, it is good to be healthy. In the case of parempi, at any rate, this is quite natural, as there can hardly be said to be a class of better things without reference to particular circumstances. But this point cannot be pressed, as other comparatives are used in the partitive.

(2) In such phrases as on mahdotonta, it is impossible; onko luvallistra, is it allowable; onko mahdollista, is it possible? the partitive is nearly always used.

The Object.

The object, like the subject, can be either total or partial. It is regarded as total when the whole of the object is represented as affected by the action of a transitive verb, and partial when only a part of it is affected by such action. Thus in mies ampui linnut, the man shot the birds, the object is total; but in mies ampui lintuja, the man shot some birds, it is partial, because in the first case no birds are thought of except those shot, who all come under the action of the verb, whereas in the second there is a vague reference to all existing birds, of which some only have been shot. Further, the object is regarded as partial whenever the action of the verb is continuous or incomplete, because the action is, so to speak, extending over the object, but has not yet embraced the whole of it. Thus, in minä kirjoitan kirjettä, I am writing a letter, the object is regarded as partial; but in minä olen kirjoittanut kirjeen, I have written a letter, it is total. The object of a negative verb is always in the partitive.

The object may be put—

- 1. In the accusative;

- 2. In the partitive;

- 3. In the nominative.

By accusative is meant that case which corresponds in the singular with the genitive, and in the plural with the nominative.

I. The total object of an active finite verb, in any mood but the imperative, is put in the accusative, unless it is a cardinal number.

Hän myi hevosen, he sold the horse. Veljeni panee rahat taskuun, my brother puts the money in his pocket. Ammuin pyyt metsässä, I shot the partridges in the wood; but ammuin viisi pyytä, I shot five partridges.

II. The Object is put in the partitive if it is partial, whatever the verb may be. From what has been said above it will be seen that this implies that the partitive must be used:—

(1) When the object is strictly speaking partial and denotes a part of something, not a whole. Antakaa minulle maitoa, teetä, etc., give me some milk, some tea, etc. Hän söi leipää ja voita, he ate some bread and butter. Isä antoi rahaa pojalle, the father gave the boy some money.

(2) When the verb is negative. En saanut kirjaa, I did not receive the book. Me emme tunne ystävääsi, we do not know your friend. Älä revi kirjaa, don’t tear the book. Lasta ei rakasteta, the child is not loved.

(3) When the action of the verb is continuous and not finished. Hän lukee kirjaa, he is reading the book. Seppä takoo rautaa, the smith is hammering the iron. Hän juuri toimittaa sitä asiata, he is just now doing the business. Often there is a difference in the meaning of a verb, according as it is followed by the accusative or partitive; the former denoting that the action is more complete. Han löi koiraa, he struck the dog; but hän löi koiran, he killed the dog. Hän repi kirjaa, he tore the book; but repi kirjan, he tore the book to pieces. A great many verbs never take a total object, because from the nature of their signification, their action cannot be definite and complete, but must be regarded as continuous. This is especially the case with verbs expressing a feeling. Niin rakasti Jumala maailmaa, so God loved the world. Neuvoin ystävääni olemaan menemättä, I advised my friend not to go. Odotin häntä kaksi tuntia, I waited two hours for him. Seurasin häntä Helsinkiin asti, I followed him to Helsingfors. Vihatkaatte pahaa, hate evil.

III. The object is also put in the nominative—

(1) If it is the total object of an imperative. Anna leipä pojalle, give the boy the bread. Vie hevonen talliin, take the horse to the stable.

(2) If it is the total object of an infinitive, which depends on an imperative, and sometimes in other cases (vide p. 185). Käske tuoda ruoka pyötään, order the food to be put on the table. Antakaa lähettää sähkösanoma, have a telegram sent.

(3) If it is a cardinal number. Maksoin kolme ruplaa, I paid three rubles.

(4) As has already been stated, the so-called passive is an impersonal verb with its total object in the nominative and its partial object in the partitive. For a detailed explanation, vide p. 181.

An intransitive verb can sometimes take an accusative after it to express the result of its action. Äiti makasi lapsensa kuoliaaksi, the mother lay on her child and killed it (lit. slept her child dead). Juoksi itsensä väsyksiin, he ran himself tired. Hän joi itsensä siaksi, he drank himself silly. Puhui suunsa puhtaaksi, he spoke out his mind.

Of the Agreement of Substantives and Adjectives with one another.

As a rule, an adjective agrees with a noun in case and number.

Hyvä mies, a good man; hyvät miehet, good men. Näissä suurissa kaupungeissa, in these large towns. Köyhille lapsille, to the poor children.

There are, however, a considerable number of exceptions.

(1) Adjectives, as well as substantives, from which they can hardly be distinguished, enter very readily into composition as the first member of a compound word, and then are not declined, e.g. mustameri, the Black Sea. Isokyrö, Vähäkyrö, names of villages. Cf. such expressions as mennyt vuonna, rankka sateella, tuiskusäällä, pakkasilmalla.

(2) Some adjectives are never declined: aika, kelpo, oiva, ensi, viime, eri, joka, koko, nyky, pikku.

Ensi maanantaina, on next Monday. Kelpo miehelle, to the good man. Eri osat, separate parts. Joka paikassa, in every place.

(3) A certain number of adjectives and pronouns, instead of following the regular construction, take after them an instructive plur. or a partitive sing., e.g. olla pahoilla mielin, to be in a good temper; tulla hyville mielin, to get into a good temper. Samalla ajoin, at the same time. Kaikissa paikoin, everywhere. Omilla korvin or silmin, with one’s own eyes or ears. Näillä seuduin, in this part of the world.

(4) The words kulta, dear; parka, raiska, raukka, riepu, poor, wretched; vaivainen, poor; vainaja, dead; paha, pahanen, polo, polonen, poor, though written separately, form a sort of compound with a substantive, which they may either precede or follow. Only the last of the two words is declined. Thus, poika polosella oli kiire, or polo pojalla, the poor boy had to hurry. Älä suututa äiti kultaani, or kulta äitiäni, do not anger my dear mother. Minä en nähnyt lapsi parkaani, I have not seen my poor child. Woi minua mies parkaa, woe is me, poor man.

As will be perceived from the rules given above (p. 124), an adjective predicated of a substantive does not always agree with the latter, but may be in the partitive, essive, or translative, when the substantive is in the nominative.

A substantive in apposition to another is usually in the same case.

It is to be noted that in such expressions as the town of Petersburg, the Emperor Alexander, the Finnish idiom conforms to the English in this respect, that if the object is inanimate, the proper name is put in the genitive. Helsingin kaupunki, the town of Helsingfors. Suomenmaa, Finland. In the case of a river either the nominative or genitive can be used. Nevan joki or Neva joki, the river Neva.

But if the proper name denotes an animate object, or a ship, it is put in the nominative, and remains in that case, even though the word in apposition to it is inflected. Keisari Suuriruhtinas Georg Aleksandrovitschin kanssa, the Emperor with the Grand Duke George Alexandrovitch. Professori Alquistin kuolema on suuri vahinko Suomelle, the death of Professor Alquist is a great blow to Finland.

When a word in apposition denotes the state of the subject at a given time, and not a general characteristic, it is put in the essive case. Poikana hän oli sairas, as a boy he was ill.

The Article.

There is no article in Finnish. Sometimes yksi (one) is used to represent the indefinite article, and in poetry the definite article is frequently expressed by a pronoun, such as tuo or se.

The rules given above will have made it clear, however, that under some circumstances Finnish can mark by the use of the cases the same distinction which we mark by the article. It may be said roughly that the nominative generally represents a substantive with the definite article in English (this would be still more true of French), and the partitive a substantive without an article. Thus, linnut ovat puussa means the birds are in the tree; but lintuja on puussa, there are birds in the tree. Ammuin lintuja is I shot some birds; ammuin linnut, I shot the birds. So, too, kivet ovat kovat means the stones are hard; while kivet ovat kovia means rather stones are hard. It would, however, be misleading to state such rules too dogmatically, as doubtless many instances could be found where the use of the nominative and partitive would not correspond to that of the article in English. Naturally, a language which has no articles and no gender is obliged to construct sentences differently from tongues which have these distinctions, and Finnish sentences, particularly in the older and simpler literature, are generally more precise than ours.

THE USE OF THE CASES.

The majority of the cases of the Finnish noun have, at any rate in their origin, a local meaning. Of these local cases two obvious groups are found, one called the interior local cases (inessive, elative, and illative), the other the exterior cases (the adessive, ablative, and allative). Another group is formed by the essive, partitive, and translative, which, however, do not hang together so closely as the cases above cited, inasmuch as the primary local meaning has in all of them been obscured by metaphorical uses. In all these groups the first member (inessive, adessive, essive) denotes originally rest in a position; the second (elative, ablative, partitive) motion from; the third (illative, allative, translative) motion to. From the original local meaning, all the cases, except the allative, come to indicate time. It may be roughly said that the first member denotes present time, the second past time, and the third future time. They are also used in a metaphorical sense, in which case the first members of the groups denote the state in which anything is, the second the state from which anything passes, and the third the state into which anything passes. In the first and second groups there is a close correspondence in the metaphorical use of the various members of the group: that is to say, if one member can be used metaphorically to express existence in a state, the others can be used to express a transition from or to it. Most of the cases have, however, in addition to these common uses, others which are peculiar to themselves and are not shared by the other members of the group.

The usage of the first and second group also shows many coincidences. It is generally said that the first group denotes local position with regard to the interior, and the second with regard to the exterior of the object. In the present state of the language, however, the distinction in this form is not very clearly observed, as will be seen by the examples given. The second group has a tendency to denote persons rather than things, whereas the first is used more of inanimate objects. The third group is mainly used in metaphorical senses. It is noticeable that there are many coincidences between the uses of the partitive and the elative.

Most of the other cases call for little comment. The instructive is used mostly adverbially, but plays a considerable part in the construction of sentences, and is likely to be troublesome to a beginner on account of its resemblance to the genitive in form. The prolative is rarely used. The comitative and abessive express respectively the presence and absence of an object. The former is not much used, but the peculiarities of the Finnish construction have caused the latter to in some ways take the place of a negative.

As has already been stated in the Accidence, it would appear that in some of the cases two forms have been merged in one. Thus it appears that the adessive represents (1) a local case, (2) an instrumental. So, too, the genitive represents (1) a case denoting the relation existing between objects, (2) a dative. The nominative is also used (1) as a real nominative, (2) as an accusative, having perhaps lost the termination in this latter case.

To understand Finnish syntax it is of the greatest importance to remember that there is no real distinction between nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. In fact, all the words of a sentence, except the forms of a finite verb (and a few particles which have become petrified) are nouns, and as such are susceptible of declension, so that the significance of the cases has an importance extending over almost the entire grammar.

Nominative.

Most of the uses of the nominative have already been indicated.

I. It is employed as the subject of a sentence if the subject is total. The subject of a transitive verb is always considered as total (vide p. 122). Ihmiset kuolevat, men are mortal. Seppä myi hevosen, the smith sold the horse. Mitä sijat maksavat? what do the places cost?

II. It also is used in the predicate, under the conditions mentioned, page 123. Silta on leveä, the bridge is wide. Ystäväni tytär on seitsemän vuotias, my friend’s daughter is seven years old.

III. It is used as the direct object after an imperative, or an infinitive depending on an imperative (vide p. 128). Lyökämme käsi kätehen (Kal. i. 21). Päästä piika pintehestä (Kal. i. 173). Kun solmit ystäwyyttä, tee aina umpisolmu, when you tie the knot of friendship, make it hard to untie. Tuokaa minulle kahvi, give me the coffee. Pankaa tämä kirje postiin, post this letter.

IV. When the passive form of the verb is used, the subject (or more properly object) is put in the nominative, if it is total. Hän saatetaan kotia, he is conducted home (vide p. 182).

V. The nominative is used as the vocative. Oi ukko ylijumala! Weli kulta, weikkoseni, kaunis kasvinkumppalini!

VI. The nominative absolute is frequently used. Kal. xvi. 192-3. Tuonen hattu hartioilla, Manan kintahat käessä, the hat of death on thy head, and the gloves of death on thy hands. Ei vahinko tule kello kaulassa, misfortune does not come with a bell round his neck. Harvoin on se mies piippu poissa suusta, this man is rarely without a pipe in his mouth. Hän makaa ulkona pää paljaana, he sleeps out of doors with his head bare.

The Partitive Case.

The original meaning of this case seems to have been motion from a place, and traces of this signification are found in the forms kotoa, ulkoa, kaukaa, takaa, tyköä, and luota. Tulla ulkoa, to come from out of doors; nähdä kaukaa, to see from far. The partitive is also apparently used locally in such expressions as tulkaa tätä tietä, come this way; minä käyn tietä, I go by the road; he kulkivat matkaansa, they went on their way. Perhaps, however, these might be explained by supposing that the intransitive verbs tulla, käydä, etc. take a cognate object. The use of the partitive of the participle passive (p. 198) to denote ‘after’ is noticeable.

Hence the case passes not unnaturally to mean what is taken from, or forms part of a thing.

I. A substantive preceded by words which express a quantity or measure is put in the partitive. Joukko ihmisiä, a crowd of men; naula lihaa, a pound of meat; paljo rahaa, much money; vähä voita, a little butter.

Similarly a cardinal number, if it is the subject of a sentence, is followed by the partitive sing. of the word which it qualifies. Kolme poikaa, three boys; seitsemän veljeä, seven brothers. In the same way we have, kaksi kymmentä, two tens or twenty. But if the word qualified by the numeral would not be in the nominative in ordinary European languages, the two agree in case (vide p. 172).

II. The word expressing quantity is omitted and the partitive stands alone as the subject of the sentence. This construction can often, though not always, be rendered by the word ‘some’ in English, or by ‘de’ with the article in French. Leipää on pöydällä, there is some bread on the table (il y a du pain sur la table). It is to be noticed that in this construction the verb of which the partitive is the subject must be intransitive, and is always in the singular, though the subject should be in the plural. Onko teillä vaatteita? have you any clothes?

The subject of a negative sentence is put in the partitive, in cases where we should say in English,—‘There is not’ or ‘there is no.’ Ei ole täällä ihmisiä, there are no men here. In such a sentence as en ole merilohia, syvän aallon ahvenia (Kal. v. 122), I am not a salmon, the partitive must be explained as indicating a class, I am not one of the salmons. In ordinary Finnish the partitive is only used in this way with determining adjectives. Thus one says, En ole vaimo, I am not a woman; but En ole niitä vaimoja jotka unhottavat miehensä, I am not one of the women who forget their husbands.

III. The object is put in the partitive whenever it is not total (vide rules given above, p. 127). Juoda kahvia, to drink some coffee; poika lukee kirjaa, the boy is reading the book. The object of a negative verb is always regarded as partial. Poika ei antanut kirjaa, the boy did not give the book. Hevonen ei jaksanut vetää kuormaa, the horse could not carry the load.

V. As stated in the rules given p. 123, the complement of a sentence is put in the partitive when it expresses a whole of which the subject is a part. The partitive is particularly used to express the substance of which a thing is made. Sormus on kultaa, the ring is gold. Kieli on lihaa ja hampaat ovat luuta, the tongue is flesh, and the teeth are bone.

VI. In a sentence expressing comparison the word kuin (than) can be omitted, and the word which follows the comparative be put in the partitive. Kuu on pienempi kuin aurinko, or kuu on pienempi aurinkoa, the moon is smaller than the sun. Pietari on suurempi Helsinkiä, St. Petersburg is larger than Helsingfors. Eikö Abanan ja Pharpharan wirrat Damaskussa ole kaikkia Israelin vesiä paremmat? Are not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?

VII. Adjectives expressing height or size require the partitive. Kirkon torni on kaksi sataa jalkaa korkea, the church tower is 200 feet high. Joki on kaksikymmentä jalkaa syvä, the river is 200 feet deep. Silta on puolta virstaa pitkä, the bridge is half a verst long.

VIII. The partitive is used in salutations, exclamations, etc., where it is to be explained by the omission of some word. Hyvää iltaa, hyvää huomenta (I wish you) good morning; kiitoksia, thanks; terveisiä, my compliments; mahdotonta! impossible! kauheaa, horrible! So too in such expressions as voi päiviäni.

Accusative.

I. The direct object of a finite active verb, if not in the imperative, is put in the accusative, when the action of the verb is regarded as total (vide p. 126). Isä ostaa kirjan pojalle, the father buys the book for the boy. Kauppamies saa rahat, the merchant receives the money.

II. The accusative is also used to denote duration of time. Viivyn päivän, viikon, muutamat viikkokaudet. Itki illat, itki aamut, yöhyet ennemmin itki, Kal. v. 7, 8. It is also used in answer to the question, how many times, or which time. Minä olen täällä ensimäisen kerran, I am here for the first time. Mina olen ollut Helsingissä muutamat (useat, monet) kerrat, I have been many times at Helsingfors.

But expressions with joka, such as joka kerta, joka päivä, are used in the nominative. Olen joka kerta matkustanut meritse, I have several times travelled by sea. Hän on minun nähnyt harva kerta, he has rarely seen me. Minä ratsastan joka päivä, I ride every day.

Genitive.

I. The genitive in Finnish is used with nouns—

(1) As the subjective genitive. Alqwistin teokset, the works of Alquist; kaupungin kadut, the streets of the town.

(2) As the objective genitive. Vanhempain rakkaus, love for one’s parents; jumalan pelko, fear of God.

(3) As the determinative genitive. Helsingin kaupunki, the town of Helsingfors; kunnon mies, kunnon valkea, a good man, a good fire.

II. Adjectives ending in -inen, which express age, measure, character, etc., take the genitive. Vanha, old, follows the same rule. Sen muotoinen, of this kind; sormen pituinen, of a finger’s length; venäläisen luontoinen, a Russian in character. Pullo on kolmen lasin vetoinen, the bottle holds three glasses. Susi on koiran näköinen, a wolf looks like a dog. Miehen peukalon pituinen, waimon waaksan korkeuinen (Kal. ii. 115). If the word in the genitive is an adjective, numeral, or pronoun, it is written as one word with the word on which it depends. Pahankurinen, ill-behaved; hyväntapainen, well-behaved.

III. The genitive is also used—

(1) With certain impersonal verbs, such as täytyy, pitää, tulee, käskee, sopii, kelpaa, tarvitsee, and with the verb olla, when this latter is used with certain adjectives. Minun pitää lähteä ulkomaalle, I must go abroad. Hänen sopii viipyä täällä. Subjectisanan tulee olla nominativissa tai partitivissa, the subject must be in the nominative or partitive. Parempi minun olisi, parempi olisi ollut, better had it been for me. Ei hänen ollut vaikea päästä ulos, he had no difficulty in getting out.

(2) A good many words expressing some state or feeling are used with the verb olla, and a genitive of the person who feels. Minun on jano, I am thirsty; minun on nälkä, I am hungry; minun on tarve, I must. Hänen on aika mennä, it is time for him to go. Similarly, Rikkaiden on velvolisuus antaa köyhille, it is the duty of the rich to give to the poor. Sotamiehen on pakko mennä vaaraan, it is the duty of a soldier to go into danger. In these latter sentences the genitive seems quite natural in our idiom, but they are really closely analogous to the phrases given above. In the dialect spoken about St. Petersburg it is usual to say minulla (not minun) on jano, nälkä.

Some of the examples quoted above support the idea (v. p. 24), that there is an old dative in Finnish ending in n, which has become confused with the genitive. It is hardly possible to explain otherwise such expressions as Jumalan kiitos, thank God; Anna minun olla rauhassa, leave me in peace.

IV. The genitive is used with the infinitives and participles to denote the agent. Examples of this use will be found in the description of the use of those parts of the verb (p. 184, ff.).

This use is also found after caritive adjectives. Miekan miehen käymätöntä (Kal. xxviii. 257), untouched by the sword of man.

THE INTERNAL CASES—INESSIVE, ELATIVE, AND ILLATIVE.

The inessive, elative, and illative are sometimes called the interior cases, because they express existence in and motion from or to the interior of an object. The adessive, ablative, and allative, on the other hand, are called the external cases, because they indicate rest on and motion from or into the exterior surface of an object. However, this distinction is not always kept up in the use of the cases, and the choice of the interior or exterior case in a given phrase seems often to be regulated by idiom or caprice, rather than by a reference to the original meaning.

Inessive.

I. The proper meaning of this case is existence in an object. Mies istuu tuvassa, the man sits in the hut. Parempi kala suussa kuin haava päässä, a fish in the mouth is better than a wound in the head. Vene kulkee vedessä, the boat moves in the water. Here the inessive is used, because, though motion is indicated, it is motion within a given space, and not to or from a given point.

There is much irregularity as to the use of the exterior and interior cases of local proper names, (1) Names ending in la always take the interior cases for euphony. Urjalassa, not Urjalalla. (2) Names of countries not ending in maa, and foreign names generally take the interior cases; but the word Venäjä, Russia, is always used in the forms Venäjällä, -ltä, -lle. (3) Names of countries ending in maa are generally used in the exterior cases, but the interior cases are used in speaking of things being found in the country. Olin Saksanmaalla, I was in Germany, but Saksamaassa on paljo sotamiehiä, there are many soldiers in Germany. But Suomenmaa, Finland, is always used in the interior cases.

Besides this strict use, the inessive is employed in a variety of expressions either metaphorically or in a loose local sense. Most of such phrases are quite obvious, and can be rendered in English by the preposition ‘in.’

II. It is used to express the time within which anything occurs. Viidessä viikossa, in five weeks. Valmistuuko työ kahdessa päivässä, finish the work in two days. Pietarista Hatsinaan voi matkustaa puolessa toista tunnissa, one can go from Petersburg to Gatchina in an hour and a half.

III. From expressing the place in which the subject is, it is used by a natural transition to express the surroundings, state, or condition of anything. Thus it is employed in speaking of the weather. Olin ulkona tuulessa ja sateessa, I was out in the wind and rain. Minä ajoin hevosella lumessa ja tuiskussa, I drove in a snow storm.

Also in a number of metaphorical expressions. Olla eksyksissä, to be in error; olla hyvässä kunnossa, to be in good condition; olla hyvässä turvassa, to be safe; olla hyvissä voimissa, to be prosperous. Te olette oikeassa ja minä olen väärässä, you are right and I am wrong. Olen ollut pari tuntia kovassa päänkivistyksessä, I had a violent headache for a couple of hours. Kello on epäjärjestyksessä, the watch is out of order. Siinä tapauksessa, in that case. Kaikki on mieli melkeässä, Ajatukset arvoisessa (Kal. v. 177).

IV. In a number of expressions the inessive is used where the adessive would seem more natural to express close connection between two objects, particularly in the case of one thing being fixed or hung on another. Kala on ongessa, the fish is on the hook. Takki on naulassa, the coat is hung on the nail. Pitäkää hattu päässä, keep your hat on your head. Hänellä ei ollut saappaita jalassa, he had no boots on his feet.

V. It also expresses the occupation in which one is engaged. Poika on työssä, the boy is at work. Cf. Olla pidoissa, häissä, to be at a banquet or marriage. Notice such idiomatic phrases as olla kalassa, to be fishing; olla heinässä, to be making hay; olla marjassa, to collect berries. It is noticeable that the verb käydä, to go to, or frequent, is generally followed by the inessive. Käydä kirkossa, to go to church; käydä katsomassa, to go to sea.

VI. It is also used to express that an object is covered or soiled with some liquid. Nenänsä on veressä, his nose is bleeding. Silmät ovat vesissä, the eyes are full of tears. Sinun otsas hiessä pitää sinun syömän leipää, in the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread. Cf. also the expression Järvi on jäässä, the lake is frozen.

VII. It is used to express that certain qualities reside in a man. Hänessä on jaloutta, he is noble (nobility is in him). Sinussapajo onkin koko mies, you are a man worth the name. Ei ole lapsessa heinän niittäjätä, a child cannot be a haycutter. Teissä on kuume, you are feverish.

Elative.

As the inessive expresses properly rest in something, so the elative expresses motion from the interior of something. Many of its uses correspond to those of the inessive already described.

I. The strict literal use is to denote motion from an interior. Mies lähti tuvasta, the man went out of the hut. Lohi hyppäsi merestä, the salmon leapt out of the sea. Metsästäjä tuli kotia metsästä, the huntsman came home from the forest. Kaatakaa olut pullosta lasiin, pour the beer out of the bottle into the glass.

II. In expressing time, the elative is used to denote the beginning of a period—that is to say, the period is regarded as setting forth from a given date. Pääsiäisestä on seitsemän viikkoa Helluntaihin, from Easter to Whitsuntide is seven weeks. Eilisestä illasta alkaen, since last night. Me läksimme matkaan aamusta, we set out in the morning (beginning from the morning). En ole nähnyt häntä Joulusta saakka, I have not seen him since Christmas. Siitä hetkestä, from that hour.

III, IV, V, VI. In all such expressions as those quoted under these headings for the inessive, the elative can be used when cessation from an occupation or condition, or purification from any defilement is to be expressed. Tulin kotiin tuiskusta ja tuulesta, I came home from the snow and wind. Kadota silmistä, näkyvistä, to disappear from view. Päästä pulasta, to get out of difficulties. Poika oti lakin päästänsä, the boy took the cap off his head. Pese nenäsi verestä, wash the blood off your nose. Pyyhi silmäsi kynelistä, dry your eyes. Järvi lähti jäästä, the lake became free of ice. Tulla pois työn teosta, kalasta, to cease working or fishing.

VII. The elative is also used by a natural transition to express separation or difference from. Minun on vaikea päästä virasta vapaakai, it is hard for me to get away from my work. Mies ei saa luopua vaimostansa, a man cannot be separated from his wife. Lätin kieli on kokonaan eroavainen Suomen kielestä, the Lettish language is perfectly different from Finnish.

Besides these uses, which are parallel with those of the inessive, the elative has a variety of other significations. These mostly arise in a quite intelligible manner, from the idea of motion from, taken in a metaphorical sense.

VIII. In many phrases the elative is used almost like the partitive, that is to say, it denotes one or more persons or things taken or selected from a number. Nuorin veljistä, the youngest of the brothers. Urhoollisin sotilaista, the bravest of the warriors. Laatokka on suurin Europan järvistä, Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe. Yksi näistä vaimoista, one of these women.

There is, however, a slight difference in the meaning of the elative and partitive in such expressions, inasmuch as the former always implies a certain part of a given quantity which is in the mind of the speaker. Thus one says kolme sisarta, three sisters, a merely numerical expression. But kolme sisaristani means three of my sisters. So naula voita means a pound of butter; but naula voista, a pound of the butter, referring to a particular kind or mass of butter.

IX. From denoting the starting-point, the elative is used to express the origin or cause of anything, or the material from which a thing is made. Kuolla myrkystä, to die of poison. Hän puhisi vihasta, he snorted from anger. Poika oli kylmästä köntistyneenä, the boy was numb with cold. Tyhjästä loi Jumala maailman, God created the world from Chaos. Hänestä tuli kelpo sotilas, he made a good soldier. Ei lapsesta laulajaksi, a child can’t be a singer (proverb). Hän on hyvästä perheestä, he is of good family. Sanasta sana syntyy, kypenestä maa kytee, one word gives birth to another, and the world catches fire from a spark. Sormus on tehty kullasta, the ring is made of gold. Munan kuori on kovasta aineesta, the shell of an egg is of a hard substance. Venäjän valtio on kokoonpantu monenlaisista kansallisuuksista, the Russian empire is composed of many nationalities.

In this sense it is often used to denote the object, particularly with words denoting speaking or some feeling. For instance, puhua asiasta, to speak of a thing, the thing being regarded as the point from which a conversation is started. Kiitoksia kysymästänne, thanks for your question. Siitä voitte olla varma, you may be sure of it. Mitä pidätte Suomen kielestä? How do you like Finnish? En välitä kenestäkään, I don’t care for anybody. Älkää surko huomisesta päivästä, take no thought for the morrow.

N.B.—There is a curious use of minusta to denote ‘in my opinion, as far as I am concerned.’

X. Somewhat similar is the use of the elative in expressions denoting price. The Finnish idiom is to say möin kirjan markasta, I sold the book for a mark; ostin kirjan markasta, I bought the book for a mark; and sain markan kirjasta, I received a mark for the book. That is to say, ‘I bought a book from a mark,’ the price being regarded as the origin of the transaction. Mitä tahdotte viikossa tästä huoneesta? how much do you want per week for this room? Silmä silmästä ja hammas hampaasta, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Kauppamies on myönyt tavaransa kalliista, the merchant sold his goods dear.

XI. The elative is used to express the object in which any one is rich or poor. Rikas rahasta, rich in money, that is to say, money is regarded as the cause of the riches. Kaivo on tyhjä vedestä, the well is empty of water. Huoneet olivat täydet väestä, the rooms were full of people.

XII. The elative is also used in a variety of expressions, in which the cause or commencement of an action is emphasized by an idiom different to our own. Thus one says, not to seize by the ear, but from the ear, pitää korvasta; sidottu käsistä ja jaloista, bound hand and foot. Damokleen miekka riippui hivuskarvasta, the sword of Damocles hung by a hair, and metaphorically, saada kiini rikoksesta, to convict of crime. Sanasta miestä, sarvesta härkää (proverb), a man is held by his words and an ox by the horns.

By an idiom of the language verbs denoting to find, or seek, and also often verbs of seeing and hearing, are followed by an elative where we should use an expression implying rest in a place. Mistä hänen löysit? where did you find him? Milloin hyvänsä tuli huoneesen, tapasi hänen aina lukemasta, whenever one went into the room, one always found him reading.

The elative comes to be used much as the accusative of respect in Latin, to mark the part in which anything is affected. Mies on kipeä silmistänsä, the man is ill from his eyes. Hän on kömpelö käsistä, he is clumsy with his hands. Raukea jaloista, foot-sore. Koivu on tuuhea latvasta, the birch has spreading branches at the top. Veitsi on terävä kärestä, the knife has a sharp edge.

Illative.

The original meaning of the illative is motion into the interior of an object, from which it passes into the general sense of motion to. Most of its uses are parallel to those of the inessive and elative. Mennä kouluun, kirkoon, to go to school or to church. Lähteä Amerikaan, Sipiriaan, to go a journey to America, to Siberia. Merimies putosi laivalta veteen, the sailor fell from the ship into the water.

It must, however, be noticed that a good many actions are regarded as implying motion to, in Finnish, which by our idiom are followed by prepositions signifying rest in. Thus one says, Hevoset seisahtuivat pihaan, the horses stopped in the court. Sananlennätin tolpat ovat pystytetyt tien viereen, the telegraph wires are laid along the road. Me perustamme koulun kaupunkiin, we founded a school in the town.

The most singular instance of this is, that the verbs signifying to remain or to leave invariably take this case, or the allative. To stay at home is jäädä kotiin, the original meaning of the verb having apparently been to go to a place and stay there. Similarly jättää, to leave behind, and unhottaa, when it is used in the same sense, take the illative. Jätin hattuni teaatteriin, I left my hat in the theatre. Unhotin rahakukkaroni kotiin, I left my purse at home.

II. The illative is used in two ways to denote time.

A. It denotes the end towards which a period is regarded as advancing, and can be translated by until or to. Pääsiäisestä on seitsemän viikkoa Helluntaihin, it is seven weeks from Easter to Whitsuntide. Kuu kiurusta kesään, it is a month from the time when the lark sings to summer (proverb). Vieläkö on pitkältä Jouloon? is it still long till Christmas?

In this sense it is often used with the preposition hamaan, or the postpositions asti and saakka. Tähän päivään saakka, up till that day; myöhään yöhön saakka, till late at night; hamaan viimeiseen päivään asti, till the day of one’s death.

B. The illative is also used idiomatically to express the space of time during which anything has not taken place. En ole nähnyt häntä kahteen vuoteen, I have not seen him for two years. En ole syönyt kunnolleen kolmeen päivään, I have not eaten properly for three days. Ei ole ollut näin kaunista syksyä miesmuistiin, there has not been such a fine autumn in the memory of man.

C. It is also used to express the period of time in which an action is performed. Ansaitsee viisi ruplaa viikkoonsa, he earns five roubles a week. In this use the suffix is nearly always added to the case, but the words aikaan, aikoihin, and puoleen (in compounds), and seutuun are used in expressing time loosely. Siihen aikaan, or näihin aikoihin, at that time. Joulun seutuun, about Christmas time. Talven puoleen, in winter time.

III, IV, V, VI. Like the inessive and elative, the illative is used in a variety of metaphorical expressions, when entrance into a state or condition is denoted. Joutua eksyksiin, to go into error, to go astray. Tulla toimeen, to get on, manage satisfactorily. Ei se käy laatuun, that is impossible. Joutua hukkaan, to perish. Ajoi hevosen uuvuksiin, he rode his horse till it was tired. So also it is used in speaking:—

(1) Of occupations, which are begun. Hän meni työhön, he went to his work; and also such expressions as mennä kalaan, to go fishing; mennä marjaan, to go berry gathering.

(2) Of the place on which anything is put. Upseeri pani hattunsa naulaan, the officer hung his hat on the peg. Vedä sappaat jalkaan, to put on one’s boots.

(3) Of liquids. Hän löi nenänsä vereen, he gave him a bloody nose. Järvi meni jäähän, the lake froze.

VII. The illative also expresses the use to which anything is put, or the purposes for which it is capable of being used. The origin of this sense of the case is clearly shown by the derivation of the verb to use, käyttää, which is the causal form of käydä, to go, and means to make a thing go in a certain direction. Hän käytti rahansa hyviin tarkoituksiin, he employed his money for good purposes. Tuhlasi aikansa turhuuteen, he wasted his time. So also Hän sopii kaikkeen, he can do everything. Lappalaiset ovat kykenemättämiä sotapalvelukseen, the Laps are not fitted for military service. Mustalainen ei pysty työhön, a gipsy is not a good worker. Hän on valmis kaikkeen hulluuteen, he is ready for any folly.

VIII. Somewhat similar is the use of the illative to express the object or desired goal of an action. Isä kehoittaa poikaa ahkeruuteen, the father exhorts the boy to be diligent. Similarly kehoitta iloon, etc. Kasvattakaa lapsenne Jumalan pelkoon ja hyviin tapoihin, bring up your children to fear God and behave properly. Minä neuvoin ystävääni kärvällisyyteen, malttavaisuuteen, I advised my friend to be patient, or prudent. Kenraali innostutti sotamiehet urhouteen, the general exhorted his soldiers to bravery.

IX. The illative is further used with verbs expressing feeling, chiefly those formed with u or y, the idea being apparently that the feeling passes from the subject to the object. For instance, olla rakastunut johonkin, to be in love with some one. Cf. the Russian idiom онъ въ нее влюбленъ. Olen kyllästynyt näihin riitoihin, I am weary of these quarrels. Siihen voitte luottaa, you may be sure of this. Hän ei mielistynyt heidän neuvoonsa ja tekoonsa, he was not pleased with their advice and doings. Tyydytkö siihen? are you satisfied with this?

X. There is a curious idiom by which in certain phrases the illative seems to be used to express the agent or cause of an action. Kuolla nälkään, to die of hunger; kuolla veteen, to be drowned. Nukkui nuoret, nukkui vanhat Wäinämöisen soitantohon, old and young were thrown into sleep by the songs of Wäinämöinen. Murehisin murtumatta, huolihin katoamatta (Kal. v. 216-7).

The idea in these phrases seems to be that the subject of the verb passes into the power of whatever is denoted by the illative.

XI. The illative is also used to express likeness. This is quite natural with such a verb as verrata, to compare. E.g. Verrattuna meihin, on hän onnellinen, compared to us, he is happy. The verb vivahtaa, to be like, also takes this case: vivahtaa veljeensä, he is like his brother; but the original meaning of the word is apparently physical motion, to glance quickly by or into. By a similar idiom the verb tulla, to come, with the illative means to resemble. Hän tulee isäänsä, he is like his father. The use of the simple verb olla, to be, with this case to express likeness is however truly singular, and is apparently to be explained only by analogy. Lapsi on isäänsä, the child is like its father. It is, however, exactly parallel to the Russian expression онъ въ отца, въ мать. Cf. Vesa kasvaa kantohonsa, the young sprout grows like the parent stem (proverb).

XI. The illative expresses the limit which a number reaches. Luku nousi kahteen-sataan, the number reached two hundred. Siellä oli lapsia viiteenkymmeneen, there were as many as fifty children.

From this use the illative is also used to denote price. Myydä halpaan hintaan, to sell cheap; myydä kalliisen hintaan, to sell dear. Tässä on omenoita kymmeneen kopekkaan, here are apples for ten copecks.

THE EXTERNAL CASES—ADESSIVE, ABLATIVE, AND ALLATIVE.

The external cases correspond in their general significance and employment to the internal cases already described, only while these latter denote rest within and motion to or from the interior of an object, the former in their strict meaning imply rest on and motion to or from the surface of an object. But as may be seen by the examples this distinction is not always very strictly observed. The external cases have a tendency to denote animate objects.

Adessive.

I. The adessive primarily denotes the place on which an action takes place. Poika istuu lattialla, the boy sits on the floor. Tuskin voin olla jaloillani, I can hardly stand on my legs. Hän asuu tällä kadulla, he lives in this street. Millä paikoilla? whereabouts? Saksan maalla kasvaa hyviä viinirypäleitä, in Germany good grapes grow. Kivet laikkui lainehilla, Somerot vesillä souti (Kal. xliv. 261, 2).

II. The adessive is also used to mark time, when the period is not definitely specified by a cardinal number or otherwise. Päivällä, in the day, by day; yöllä, by night; keväällä, in spring; kesällä, in summer; syksyllä, in autumn; talvella, in winter; (but viime kesänä, last spring, because the time is determined by the adjective).

Kalat tärpäävät kesällä, fish bite in spring. Aamulla ani varahin, very early in the morning (Kal. iv. 303). Kysyi työtä iltaisella, he asked for the work in the evening (Kal. xxxii. 6).

III. Like the inessive the adessive is used in a loose or metaphorical sense to denote the external circumstances under which anything takes place. Thus it is used of the weather. Kuivalla säällä, in dry weather; tuulella, in windy weather. Minä palasin kotiin sateella, I returned home in the rain. Joka tyynellä makaa, se tuulella soutaa (proverb), he who sleeps in a calm, rows in a wind.

Olla hereellä or valveella, to be awake. On tulolla sade, it is going to rain. Olen menolla, I am going.

And in some cases where according to our ideas the circumstances denoted are distinctly internal, e.g. olla hyvällä tai pahalla mielellä, to be in a good or bad humour. Olla hyvällä päällä, to feel courageous. Cf. Kal. xliv. 269, 270. Nuoret naiset naurusuulla, Emännät ilolla mielin.

In particular it is thus used with verbal nouns to express that an action is being undertaken. Kirjan käännös on tekeellä (or tekeilla), the translation of the book is being made. Kangas on kuteella, the cloth is being woven.

IV. By a closely analogous use the adessive signifies the occupation in which any one is engaged (cf. the use of the inessive in this sense). Olla ongella, nuotalla, to be engaged in fishing with a hook or net.

This use is particularly frequent in the case of games or meals. Olla päivällisellä, to be at dinner; olla aamiaisella, to be at breakfast; olla koppisilla, to be playing ball. Lapset ovat piiloisilla, the children are playing hide and seek.

V. The adessive is also used to signify with, near, or in the house of (French chez). Poika on meillä, le garçon est chez nous. Hänellä on vieraita, he has guests staying with him. Vietin kolme päivää eräällä ruotsalaisella herralla maalla, I spent three days with a Swedish gentleman in the country.

From an extension of this use it comes to denote possession, and in combination with the olla replaces the verb to have, which does not exist in Finnish. Minulla on kirja, I have a book. Hänellä on luunkolotus, he has the rheumatism. Mikä este sinulla oli? what hindered you?

In this idiom the verb is always in the third person sing., even though the substantive is in the nominative plur. Isällä on harmaat hiukset, the father has white hair. Onko teillä saksia? have you a pair of scissors? Hevonen on rengillä, the man has the horse. Hyvällä on nimiä paljo, pahalla tapoja paljo, good has many names and evil many shapes. Jumalalla on onnen ohjat, Luojalla lykyn avaimet (proverb), God has the reins of fortune, the Creator has the keys of luck. Cf. Kal. xliii. 337. Jumalall’ on ilman wiitta, Luojalla avaimet onnen.

VI. It also denotes the price at which a thing is bought or sold. Minä ostin kirjan kahdella markalla, I bought a book for two marks. Kauppamies möi kaikki tavaransa suurella voitolla, the merchant sold all his goods at a great profit. Ostin matot huokeammalla (hinnalla), kuin niiden arvo on, I bought these carpets for less than they are worth.

VII. Besides these various significations which can be deduced from the primary meaning of rest on, the adessive has quite another use, viz. as an instrumental to denote the means or the object by which an action is accomplished. It would seem that two originally distinct forms have been confused in the case as it at present exists in Finnish, though it might be possible to derive this instrumental meaning from the metaphorical uses quoted under III. Näin sen omilla silmilläni, I saw it with my own eyes. Oillä päivät jatketaan, virsillä vähät oluet (proverb), the days are lengthened by the nights, and a little beer goes further if one sings. Elä koukulla kohenna, kärryksellä käännyttele (Kal. xxiii. 401-2)—Kansalla karhukin kaadetaan (proverb).

VIII. From this use is derived another, signifying the way in which anything is done. Ilolla, joyfully. Monella tavalla, in many ways; ei millään tavalla, in no way at all. Sen teen mielelläni, I do it with pleasure.

Ablative.

I. The ablative expresses motion from the surface of anything. Lapsi putosi pöydältä, the child fell from the table. Ei köyhä korkealta kaadu, luudan päältä lattialle, the poor cannot have a great fall: only as high as a besom from the floor (proverb). Korkealta kakko lenti ... Allit aalloilta syviltä, Joutsenet sulilta soilta, the eagle flew from high, the wild duck from the deep waves, the swans from the watery marshes.

II. It is also used in various expressions denoting time.

A. In such sentences as ‘year after year,’ ‘day after day.’ In Finnish the first word is put in the nominative and the second in the ablative. Päivä päivältä hän tulee kipeämmäksi, day by day he gets worse. Myrsky kiihtyy hetki hetkeltä, the storm grows stronger every hour. Odotan häntä tunti tunnilta, I expect him every hour.

B. In sentences expressing money earned in a given time. Hän saa kaksituhatta markkaa vuodelta, he receives two thousand marks a year. Maksavat rengille viisitoista ruplaa kuukaudelta, the servant is paid fifteen roubles a month.

C. The time from which anything begins. Kaupunki on viima vuosisadalta, the house dates from the last century. Niinkuin asetus tammikuun viidenneltä päivältä määrää, according to the provisions of the decree of January 5.

Similarly—Kello kuudelta aamulla nousin työtä tekemään, I begin to work at (that is, beginning from) six o’clock in the morning. Tulee pimeä jo kello neljältä, it gets dark at four o’clock.

III. It is used analogously to the adessive (No. IV), to express cessation from an occupation, game, or meal. Miehet tulivat ongelta, the men came home from fishing. Tulimme päivälliseltä, we came from dinner. Lapset lakkasivat sokkosilta, the children stopped playing blind man’s buff.

IV. The ablative denotes motion from a person or from his house. Vierahat tulivat teiltä, the strangers came from you. Palvelija tuli isännältä, the servant came from his master. Cf. Ostin tavaroita kauppamieheltä, I bought some goods of the merchant. So also Minä sain äidiltäni kirjeen, I received a letter from my mother. Kysyivät häneltä, they asked of him.

V. From the idea of separation the ablative comes to denote the person who loses anything or from whom anything is hidden, defended, etc. It becomes in fact very nearly what is called the ‘dativus incommodi’ in Latin Grammar. Häneltä kuoli äiti, his mother died (died from him). Ei Jumala kiellä lapsiltansa iloa, God does not forbid joy to his children. Ei tytär salaa äidiltänsä mitään, the daughter hides nothing from her mother.

VI. The cause which prevents an action is put in the ablative. Tyttö ei päässyt kotoa astiain pesulta, the maid could not leave the house because she had to wash the things. En jouda kesäisiltä kiirehiltä, I cannot come on account of the work that has to be done in summer. En voinut nukkua koiran haukunnalta, I could not sleep on account of the dogs barking.

VII. The ablative is also used to denote the part or quality with respect to which anything is predicated of an object. Hän on hyvä tavoiltansa, he has a good disposition. Munat ovat väriltään ja suuruudeltaan erilaisia, eggs are of different colours and sizes. Poika on iältään jo kymmenvuotias, the boy is ten years old (in his life). Tyttö on solakka varreltaan, the girl has a graceful figure. Ukko on vielä ketterä jalalta, the old man is still quick-footed. Tunnen hänen näöltä, I know him by sight. Mies on Matti nimeltä, the man is Matthew by name.

VIII. It is apparently to this use that must be traced such expressions as maistua hyvältä, karvaalta, to taste good or bitter.

Verbs which express the impression made by an object on the senses are generally followed by an adjective in the ablative describing the nature of the sensation. If it is remembered that the distinction between the adjective and substantive is very slight, we may explain such a phrase as näyttää kauniilta as looks with regard to beauty, that is, looks beautiful.

Examples—Hän näyti Saksalaiselta, he looked like a German. Miltä nyt tuntuu? how do you feel now? Mansikka maistuu makealta, strawberries taste sweet. Se näyttää luonnollisemmalta, it seems more natural.

Allative.

I. The allative expresses motion on to or into the neighbourhood of an object. Lapsi putosi lattialle, the child fell on to the floor. Tahdotteko viedä minun Uudelle Kadulle? will you show me the way to New Street? Lähen Pohjolan tuville, Lapin lasten tanterille, I go to the dwellings of the North, to the plains of the Laplanders.

II. It expresses also the external circumstances of an action when those circumstances are regarded as not already existing, but as to be entered on. Koska saatte työnne alkeille? when will your work be begun? Minä panen kankaan kuteille, I put the stuff to be woven.

III. Like the adessive and ablative it is used of occupations, games, or meals, in which one engages, but always with the idea of entering on or beginning. Menkäämme ongelle, let us go and fish. Emäntä on käskenyt ruoalle, the mistress of the house has asked us to dinner. Olen kutsuttu kahville, I am invited to take coffee. Lapset rupeevat piilosille, the children begin to play hide and seek.

IV. From meaning motion into the neighbourhood of an object or to the house of anyone (e.g. Meille tuli vieraita, guests came to see us), it comes to be used as a dative to express the remote object of an action. Äiti antoi kirjan pojallensa, the mother gave a book to her son. Jumala on laupias syntisille, God is merciful to sinners. Olen kiitollinen teille, I am obliged to you; olen ottanut itselleni vapauden, I have taken (for myself) the liberty. Minun on mahdoton määrätä aikaa takaisin tulolleni, I cannot fix the date of my return.

V. The allative is sometimes, though rarely, used in the way described under the ablative IX. Ilma näyttää kauniille, the weather looks fine. Cf. Kal. xli. 23. Jo kävi ilo ilolle, Riemu riemulle remahti, Tuntui soito soitannalle, etc.

Abessive.

The abessive expresses the absence of anything.

Joka syyttä suuttuu,

Se lahjatta leppyy,

He who is angry without a cause is reconciled without a reward (proverb).

Joka kuritta kasvaa,

Se kunniatta kuolee,

He who grows up without education dies without honour (proverb), Olkaa huoletta, don’t trouble yourself (be without care). Elä suihki sutsunatta, Eläkäräämi rätsinättä, Elä liiku liinaisetta (Kal. xxiii. 215), go not without raiment, wander not without a shirt, stray not without a kerchief. Vanhempien tiedotta, without the knowledge of one’s parents. Muitten avutta, without the help of others.

For emphasis the particle ilman is placed before the abessive.

Ilman tau’in tappamatta,

Ottamatta oivan surman,

Without being slain by disease or taken by a natural death (Kal. xvi. 178, 9).

The use of the abessive of the third infinitive is particularly frequent, see below, p. 193.

Essive.

I. The original use of the essive is locative, but this only survives in some adverbial expressions: ulkona, out of doors; kaukana, far; luona, near; takana, behind; kotona, at home; läsnä olla, to be present; kokonansa, altogether (in its entirety); keskenänne, keskenänsä, etc., between you, them; and such expressions as olla rannempana, to be near shore; olla sisempänä, to be inside.

II. From this use comes that denoting a definite period of time during which something happens; tänäpänä, to-day; huomenna, to-morrow; Maanantaina, Tiistaina, etc., on Monday, Tuesday, etc. En ole maannut kolmena viimeisenä yönä, I have not slept there the last three nights. Ihmiset käyvät pyhänä kirkossa, people go to church on a Saint’s day. Eip’ on toiste tullutkana, Ei toiste sinä ikänä, She never came again, Never again in this life (Kal. v. 138). Jo päivänä muutamana, huomenna moniahana (Kal. v. 53).

III. From a metaphorical use of this local meaning the essive comes to denote the character or state in which the subject of a sentence is. It is used thus—

(1) As the predicate. Isäni on pappina, my father is a priest.

Taivas köyhän kattona,

Maantie permantona (proverb),

The sky is the roof of the poor man and the high road his floor. Mikä on asiana? what’s the matter?

(2) As the appositional case.

Minkä nuorena oppii

Sen vanhana muistaa (proverb),

What one learns young one remembers when old. Nuorna vitsa väännettävä, one should bend the bough while it’s young (proverb). Poikana minä en tuntenut häntä, as a boy I never knew him.

Translative.

I. The original meaning of the translative, like that of the illative and allative, seems to be motion to; but this only survives in a few adverbs. Ulos, out of doors (‘foras’); luoksi or luoʻ, to; taakse or taaʻ, backwards; sisemmäksi, inwards; rannemmaksi, nearer shore.

II. In a temporal sense the translative is used to express the time in which a thing is to be (not was) accomplished. Poika rupesi palvelukseen vuodeksi, the boy entered service for a year. Hän jäi meille yöksi, he stayed with us for the night (the event, though in the past, is regarded from the point of view when it was future).

It also expresses a limit of time: tämä kirja valmistuu jouluksi, the book will be ready by Christmas. Voinko saada ne ensi maanantaiksi? can I have them by next Monday?

It is also used to express place in numerical order. Ensiksi, first, in the first place; toiseksi, in the second place.

III. The most frequent signification of the translative is metaphorical, viz. the state into which anyone or anything passes. It can be used thus after transitive and intransitive verbs. Tulla köyhäksi, to become poor. Ilma ei muutu selkeäksi, the weather does not become clearer. Ne tulevat valmiiksi, they will be ready. Myrsky käy raivoisaksi, the storm grows high. Emäntä leipoi jauhot leiviksi, the housewife baked the flour into bread. Itse tuon sanoiksi virkkoi, (frequent phrase in Kalevala), himself thus put this into words. Kaupunki paloi tuhaksi, the town was burnt to ashes.

It is also used as a complement after verbs of naming, calling, considering, perceiving, etc. (v. p. 201), the idea being that in consequence of the action of such verbs the object passes into a new state. Kutsutte minun mestariksi ja Herraksi, ye call me master and Lord. Näkivät hänen kuolleeksi, they saw he was dead. Älkää pahaksi panko, don’t take it amiss. Tunnen itseni hyvin sairaaksi, I feel very ill. The verb pitää is peculiar in always taking the essive, and not translative, after it. E.g. Pitää jotakin häpeänä, to think a thing a shame.

IV. It also expresses the purpose or use for which anything serves. Hän kelpaa opettajaksi, he is fit for a schoolmaster. Mitä voin tehdä palvelukseksenne? what can I do for you (for your service)? Olkoon tämä teille opiksi, let this be a lesson to you. Yhtiö lasten suojelemiseksi, a society for protecting children. Juon viiniä terveydekseni, I drink wine for my health. Juoda onneksi, to drink to some one’s health.

By an extension of this use the translative is used almost like the essive (cf. the dative of the complement in Latin). Se on hänelle häpeäksi, he ought to be ashamed of it (it is for a shame to him). Compare also miksi? why?

The translative can be used idiomatically in such phrases as He speaks Finnish well for a foreigner, or considering that he is a foreigner, hän puhuu suomea hyvin ulkomaalaiseksi. So too, Laiva on purreksi hyvä kulkemaan, the ship goes well for a sailing-boat. Poika on liian viisas ikäiseksensä, the boy is very clever for his age. A good example of this use is found in Kal. v. 63 ff. Sileähk’ on silkaseksi, Kuleahka kuujaseksi, Evätöin emäkalaksi, Ihala imehnoksiki, Pää-rivatoin neitoseksi, Vyötöin veen on tyttöseksi, Korvitoin kotikanaksi.

VI. This use is analogous to the adverbial use of the translative, which is frequent. For instance, pahaksi (or kovaksi), hyväksi onneksi, fortunately, unfortunately. Osaksi, partly. Elää herroiksi, to live en grand seigneur.

With this may be compared its use to express the language in which anything is written. Kirja on käännetty suomeksi, the book is translated in Finnish. So Saksaksi, in German; Ruotsiksi, in Swedish; Venäjäksi, in Russian.

Comitative.

I. The comitative is used to express the person in whose company, or the object in connection with which an action takes place. It is always used in spoken Finnish in the plural, even if only one person or object is referred to, but in the old language and in printed books the singular is sometimes found. It nearly always takes a pronominal affix. Mies meni pois vaimoinensa, the man went away with his wife. Vetivät verkon kaloinensa, they drew in the net with the fish. Otti lapsen äitinensä, he took the child with its mother. Kesä on tullut ihanine ilmoinensa, the summer is come with beautiful weather. Sata miestä miekkoinensa, a hundred men with their swords (Kal. xi. 100).

When the comitative is combined with an attribute, the latter frequently ends in n, not ne. For instance, järvet saoin saarinensa, lakes with a hundred islands (Kal. xxiv. 459). Ei hänen sovi tulla tänne tuhmin tapoinensa, he ought not to come here with his foolish ways. Älä tule sisään likaisin jalkoinesi, don’t come in with your dirty feet.

Copious examples of this case will be found in Kalevala, xxiv. 444-462. Jää nyt pirtti terveheksi, Pirtti lautakattonesi, etc.

Instructive.

I. The instructive is used to express the instrument or the manner in which an action is performed. The instructive of substantives is chiefly used of parts of the body and in modern Finnish always in the plural. Paljain jaloin, with bare legs, barelegged. Poika meni ulkos paljain päin, the boy went out bareheaded. Omin käsin, with one’s own hands; omin silmin, with one’s own eyes. Ristissä käsin, with hands crossed. Kaikki huonekalut ovat sikin sokin, all the furniture is topsy-turvy. Kulkea jalan, to go on foot. Alla päin, with one’s head hanging down (Kal. iii. 501 and following lines). On meillä valta omin luvin tulla huoneesenne, we have authority to come into your room without asking leave. Kahden ynnä, both together; yksin mielin, with one accord; yksin syntyi Wäinämöinen, Wäinämöinen was born alone.

It is noticeable that generally when this case is used, either a noun with an adjective is found or two nouns both in the instructive. Thus one can say kissa repi ovea kynsin hampain, whereas if only one word were used it would be better to use kynsillä or hampailla.

The instructive rarely takes pronominal suffixes. Kal. ix. 507, 509, En liiku omin lihoini ... En väiky omin väkini.

II. The instructive of adjectives is frequently used adverbially to express manner.

(1) The instructive singular of an adjective is used adverbially to qualify another adjective or adverb in the positive. Tavattoman kaunis, exceedingly beautiful; kauhean ruma, horribly ugly; hyvin hyvä, very good; tämä yö oli hirveän pitkä, the night was terribly long.

(2) The instrumental plural of adjectives in the comparative or superlative is used to define verbs. Puhu nopeammin, speak quicker; aurinko paistaa kirkkaammin, the sun shines brighter.

III. The instructive plural is also used in a temporal sense, and denotes an indefinite or recurring period of time. Thus linnut laulavat illoin, aamuin, the birds sing in the morning, in the evening (whereas if a definite morning or evening is meant the essive must be used). In this sense the termination sin is often used, which is really the instructive plural of an adjective with a nominative nen formed from the noun. Thus me alamme työn aamuisin kello kahdeksasta, we begin to work at eight in the morning. Iltaisin rupeamme aikaisemmin maata, we go to led earlier in the evening. Hän tekee talvisin kauppamatkoja, he makes business journeys in the winter. Onko teillä tapa valvoa öisin? are you in the habit of not sleeping at night?

This same ending is added to substantives in a sense somewhat analogous to the prolative. Minä menen rautateisin, I go by rail. Sotaväki matkusti osaksi maisin osaksi merisin, the troops travelled partly by land, partly by sea.

Prolative.

This case is rarely used, and in fact has no sense when formed from any but substantives expressing some kind of local position. It expresses motion by or over anything, and is chiefly employed in adverbial expressions, and generally in the plural. Tulla meritse tai maitse, to come by sea or land. Järven ranatse, along the shore of the lake. Niemen nenitse, round the promontory. Aalloitse, by sea. Minä kylvän kyyhättelen Luojan sormien lomitse, I sow by the finger of God (lit. through the interval of the fingers). Kal. ii. 297 (Mehiläinen lenti) Otavaisten olkapäitse, Seitsentähty en selitse, (the bee flew) over the shoulder of the great bear, over the back of the seven stars.

THE ADJECTIVE.

Most of the peculiarities of the Finnish Adjective have been already noticed. The various rules for its concord with a substantive have been given on p. 128 f., and rules for the cases used after comparatives and superlatives on pp. 136 & 143. With reference, however, to this latter subject, it may be as well to recapitulate the rules.

Comparative. After an adjective in the comparative can be used:—

I. The word kuin, followed by the substantive in the proper case. Oletkos sinä suurempi kuin meidän isämme Abraham? art thou greater than our father Abraham?

II. Or else the word kuin is omitted and the substantive is put in the partitive. The sentence quoted above from the Bible might have been equally well written—Oletkos sinä suurempi meidän isäämme Abrahamia?

III. Such expressions as ‘it is better to,’ and the like, are rendered by parempi on (or olisi), with the first infinitive. Parempi on nöyränä olla, it is better to be humble.

The superlative can be used either absolutely, or with some word depending on it in such phrases as ‘the greatest of kings’. Such a word is put either in the partitive or in the elative, with very little difference in the meaning. The elative, however, implies reference to a more definite class than the partitive. Suurin kuninkaita is greatest of kings; but suurin kuninkaista, the greatest of the kings.

Not only are adjectives and substantives declined in exactly the same manner, but the distinction between them is very slight. The same form is sometimes used both as a noun and an adjective e.g. lysti, ikävä, or adjectives are used in cases which seem to imply that they have a substantival meaning; Olla lujassa, to be firm; olla kylmillä, to be cold. Some substantives can be compared, as if they were adjectives. Rannempi, nearer shore, mielellämmin, more agreeably; so too syrjempi (syrjä), talvempana, keväämpänä, popular expressions for later in winter or spring. Minä jätän illemmäksi, I leave it till later in the evening.

PRONOUNS.

Personal Pronouns.

The personal pronouns are always employed when there is any emphasis on them in English; otherwise, they are mostly omitted, the termination of the verb indicating the person with sufficient clearness. Thus one says, Minä olen sen tehnyt, et sinä, I did it, not you; but Tahtoisin lähteä huomenna, jos ette pane vastaan, I should like to leave to-morrow if you have no objection.

If the subject of both a principal and subordinate sentence is a pronoun of the first or second person, it is always omitted in the subordinate sentence. Ottakaa mitä tahdotte, take what you like. Hän sanoi ettei tunne tätä miestä, he said he did not know the man.

Sinä and Te are used with much the same distinction as Du and Sie in German, that is to say, the plural is used out of politeness when speaking with anyone but inferiors or intimate friends.

Possessive Pronouns.

There are no pronominal adjectives in Finnish corresponding to my, thy, etc. Their place is supplied (a) by the genitive of the personal pronoun, (b) more frequently by the pronominal affixes.

When the possessive pronoun is emphatic, both the genitive and the affix are used, and in the Bible this construction is frequent, even when there is no particular emphasis. As a rule, however, the affix alone is sufficient in the 1st and 2nd persons.

The affix of the 3rd person, however, is used alone only when it refers to the subject of the principal verb; for instance, Hän ei nähnyt vaimoansa, he has not seen his wife; but Ettekö nähneet hänen vaimoansa? have you not seen his wife? Similarly, He has not seen his (another person’s) wife must be rendered, Hän ei nähnyt hänen vaimoansa.

Such a sentence as that is mine is rendered by Se on minun. Ei minun oppini ole minun, my doctrine is not mine.

It is I is rendered by minä olen.

The affixes ni, si, nsa, etc. have a simple possessive sense when added to nouns, but they are added to a variety of other words under circumstances which render it impossible to translate them by the possessive pronoun in English. It would appear that they simply denote that the pronoun which they represent is to be taken in connection with the word to which they are added. When the two ideas of House and I are taken together this naturally means ‘my house,’ but other combinations have to be rendered in a different manner.

I. In old Finnish, particularly in the Bible, they are added to the cases of the personal pronouns for emphasis. Tutkikaat raamatuita, sillä niissä te luulette teillenne ijankaikkisen elämän olevan, search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life (S. John v. 39). Puhukaan itse hänestänsä, let him speak for himself (S. John ix. 21). Että te rakastaisitte teitänne keskenänne, that ye might love one another (S. John xiii. 34). This use is found chiefly in the western dialect of Finnish.

II. They are similarly added to various adjectives. En minä ole yksinäni, am not alone. Cf. the use of hyvänsä with pronouns. Similarly in such phrases as rakastakaa toinen toistanne, etc. (vide p. 171). Olkoon sinänsä, let it be; olla semmoisenansa, to be like it or him; jättää työ siksensä, to leave one’s work as it is. Hän on suorastansa hullu, he is a perfect fool. Cf. mieleiseni, agreeable to me.

III. They are very commonly added to postpositions (vide p. 203 ff.), or to adverbs (which however are mostly cases of nouns or adjectives). Ainoastansa, kokonansa; yhtenään, yleensä.

IV. They are also added to infinitives and participles in many constructions (vide pp. 184-200).

Demonstrative Pronouns.

The demonstrative pronouns are as follows:—

Tämä, this, is used of both persons and things. Nämä talot ovat minun, these houses are mine. Tällä miehellä ei ole rahaa, this man has no money. Tuo, that, is also used of both persons and things. Tuo tyttö on kaunis, that girl is good-looking. Tuo ei ole oikein, that is not correct.

Se is used of the third person if anything but a human being is spoken of. Missä on koira? Se ei ole huoneessa, where is the dog? He’s not in the room. Ne kalat ovat pienet, these fish are small. Mitä pidätte siitä, what do you think of it? In popular language and in the Kalevala it is also used as the equivalent of hän. Se puhuu totta, he speaks the truth. Se mies joka paikkansa pitää (proverb), he is a man who keeps his place. It is also used adjectively to emphasize a word, and often corresponds to our article. Se koira vinkasi johon kalikka kävi, the dog who is hit howls (proverb).

Reflexive Pronouns.

The reflexive pronoun in Finnish is supplied by the oblique cases of Itse, self, always with the addition of the proper possessive affix. The genitive, however, is rarely used, and only with prepositions. Ostin itselleni hatun, I bought myself a hat. Itsestänsä paha pappi saarnaa (proverb), a bad priest preaches about himself. Tunne itsesi, know thyself. Auta itseäsi ja jumala sinua auttaa, help yourself and God will help you. Vide below (p. 170) for other uses of this word itse.

The genitive of the reflexive pronoun is supplied by the adjective oma, own, corresponding to the Russian свой. The noun qualified by this adjective takes the proper pronominal affix. Minä otin oman osani, ja hän ei sinun osaasi ottanut vaan oman osansa, I took my share, and he did not take your share, but his own share. Oma has not always the reflexive meaning, but is used simply for emphasis as ‘my own,’ etc. in English. Tämä on minun oma taloni, this is my own cottage. Omat on virret oppimani, omat saamani sanaiset. It is also used without reference to a definite subject to mean ‘one’s own.’

Omat maat makuisimmat

Omat metsät mieluisimmat.

One’s own lands are more pleasant and one’s own forests sweeter (than those of others).

Interrogative Pronouns.

(1) Kuka is a substantive. The nominative singular and plural means who? and is only used of persons. The remaining cases kussa, kusta, kuhun or kunne, kuin, kun, etc., are mostly used as particles. Kuka luulisi häntä niin viekkaaksi? Who would have thought him so clever? Kutka tuolta tulevat? Who come from there?

(2) Ken is identical in meaning with kuka, being also a substantive and only used of persons. The nominative is rarely used, but the oblique cases supply those of kuka. Kenen kirja tämä on? Whose book is this? Kenellähän olisi rahaa? Who is likely to have any money?

(3) Mikä has two uses: (1) when applied to persons it is always used adjectively. Mikä mies tuo on? what man is that? Mi sinä olet miehiäsi? (Kal. ii. 134.) what manner of man art thou? (2) When applied to things it can be used either adjectively or substantively. It will be noticed that this is exactly similar to the use of what in English. Mikä on nimesi? what is your name? Mitä maksoitte? what did you pay? Millä kadulla asutte? what street do you live in?

(4) Kumpi is either a substantive or an adjective, and means which of two. Kumpi teistä (or teitä) tulee? Which of you is coming? Kumpaa viiniä paremmin rakastatte, punaistako vain valkoista? Which wine do you prefer, red or white? Hän saapui Turkuun, jossa kaupungissa viipyi kaksi viikkoa, He arrived at Åbo, in which town he remained two weeks.

Relative Pronouns.

Joka, who or which, is a substantive, and sometimes an adjective. Joka myllyyn menee se tomuun tulee, he who goes to the mill gets dusty (proverb). Poika, jolle annoitte kirjan, on veljeni, the boy to whom you gave the book is my brother.

Jompi, which of two, is not frequently used: Ota näistä kirjoista jomman tahdot, take which of these books you like. Pata kattilata soimaa: musta kylki kummallakin, the pot abuses the kettle; but both are black. Kuka, kumpi, and mikä, are also used as relatives. En tiedä kuka se on, I do not know what is. Jos tietäisin mitä tahdotte, niin antaisin, if I knew what you wanted I would give it you. N.B. The word kuin, meaning as, is sometimes used as a relative pronoun.

Indefinite Pronouns.

I. One kind of indefinite pronoun is formed by the union of the relative and interrogative in their shortened form. Joku, some one, some one or other; jompikumpi, one or other of two. Joku kolkuttaa, some one is knocking. Tuli joitakuita miehiä, some men came. Sano jommalle kummalle, tell one or other of them.

II. The relative and interrogative pronouns when combined with the suffix kin—jokin, kukin, mikin, kumpikin or kumpainenkin—are used as indefinite pronouns in affirmative sentences. The same pronouns combined with kaan—kukaan, kenkään, mikään, kumpikaan—are used only in negative phrases or dubitative questions, and then mean, no one, none, nothing, and neither. Menköön jokin hänen jälkeen, let some one go after him. Ei kukaan tiedä mihin hän meni, no one knows where he went. Oletteko kuulleet jotakin uutta? have you heard something new? En mitäkään, nothing. Ei johtunut kenenkään mieleen, no one remembered (it came into nobody’s mind). Kelpaako näistä kumpikaan? will either of these do?

Under many circumstances the interogative and relative pronouns are used as indefinite.

(1) In sentences meaning ‘some do one thing, some another.’ Cf. the use of кто in Russian. Mikä itkee, mikä nauraa, one weeps and another laughs. Kuka uskoo, kuka ei, some believe, and some don’t. Ketä nälättää, ketä janottaa, one is hungry, and another thirsty.

(2) When two interrogatives or relatives are combined together and one takes the suffix kin in such expressions as vieraita tuli mikä mistäkin, strangers come some from one side some from another (Lat. alii aliunde). Haastelivat minkän mitäkin, they talked of different subjects. Tekivät tuttavuutta kuka kunkin kanssa, they made acquaintances one with another.

(3) Interrogatives and relatives are turned into indefinite pronouns by the addition of the words hyvänsä, tahtonsa, tahansa, ikänänsä, ikinä, corresponding to the Latin cumque, libet, vis, and such English expressions as who you like, who you will, or ever. Sen taitaa kuka hyvänsä tehdä, anyone can do that; missä ikänänsä olette, wherever you are; tulkoon kuka tahtonsa or tahansa, whoever comes; kuka ikinä sen löytää, whoever finds it.

(4) The use of the simple interrogative for the indefinite pronoun is peculiarly frequent in phrases beginning with vaikka. Tulkoon vaikka kuka, come who may. Maksoi vaikka mitä, whatever it cost. Oli hän waikka kuka, whoever he may be. Cf. vaikka koska, whenever; vaikka missä, wherever.

Various Pronominal Adjectives.

I. Eräs, muutama and muudan or muuan, all mean some, a certain. Eräänä aamuna, one morning. Muutamia miehiä astui huoneesen, several men came into the room. Oli kerran muudan ukko, there was once an old man.

II. Itse. This word, which means self, is used as a reflexive pronoun, as described above, p. 166. It is also used simply for emphasis. Minä itse, I myself; hän on itse hyvyys, he is goodness itself. When itse is used with a substantive it can either precede, in which case it is not declined and takes no pronominal suffix, or else follow, in which case it is put in the same case as the substantive and has a suffix. Itse asiassa se ei mitään tee, as a matter of fact that makes no difference. Kuulin kerran, ukon itsensä puhuvan, I once heard the old man himself say.

When itse is used with postpositions it often remains unchanged while the postposition takes the pronominal suffix. Itse puolestani olen tyytyväinen, for my part I am content. Hän on itse kauttansa rikastunut, he has grown rich by his own exertions (through himself). En siitä huolisi itse tähteni, I should not trouble about it on my own account.

III. Kaikki, all, every, is the Latin omnis. Koko, all or the whole, is totus. This latter word is properly a substantive meaning collection, and it is not declined when used as an adjective. Kaikki is declined, but its accusative singular is either kaikki or kaiken. The nominative and accusative plural are also generally kaikki, but kaiket is used in the sense of koko. N.B. Hän on minulle kaikki kaikessa, he is all in all to me.

IV. Moni is generally used in the singular, moni mies, many a man. When it is used as the subject of a sentence, the partitive monta is generally employed. Monta miestä, monta mieltä, many men, many opinions (proverb).

The plural monet has generally the sense of various. Monet venäjän kansat elävät kalastuksella, many races in Russia live by fishing.

V. The word toinen, another or second, is used with the pronominal suffixes as a reciprocal pronoun. In this case either the oblique case may be used alone with the suffix, or the nominative, without the suffix be added. He rakastavat toisiansa, they love one another, or He rakastavat toinen toisiansa.

Muu means other or another, whereas toinen usually means the other, or at any rate refers to a definite person. Thus Näistä miehestä toinen on venäläinen, toinen saksalainen, one of these men is a Russian, the other a German. Se ei ole kukaan muu kuin kuningas itse, this is no other than the king himself. Ovatko toiset tulleet? are the others come? Onko ketään muita tullut? Has anyone else come?

The adverbial forms muualla, muualta, muualle seem derived from a stem muuka, which is not found in the nominative. Miehet ovat muualta tulleet, the men have come from another country.[14]

VI. The indeclinable adjective joka has much the same meaning as jokainen, namely each or every. Joka vuosi, every year. Se nähdään joka aika, that is always seen. Annoin rahaa joka miehelle, I gave every man some money. Joka toinen, kolmas, neljäs, etc., every second, third, fourth, etc. Joka toisena päivänä, every other day.

NUMBERS.

The use of the numbers presents some peculiarities.

A. Yksi, one, is an adjective which agrees with the substantive it qualifies. Hän aina puhuu yhtä asiaa, he always talks on one subject. Olla yhdessä neuvossa, to be concerned in a plan.

B. The other numbers require that the word they qualify should be in the partitive singular, if the number is in the nominative. Under these circumstances the verb is the singular. Kolme poikaa on talossa, three boys are in the house. Viisi tuhatta miestä, 5000 men. Seitsemän kalaa, seven fishes.

But with words that have no singular, both the numeral and substantive are put in the nominative. Yhdet, kahdet häät, one, two marriages. Viidet sakset, five pairs of scissors. Kahdeksat sukat, eight pairs of stockings.

C. If the numeral is in an oblique case, then the substantive is put in the same case also, but in the singular. Viidelle pojalle, to five boys. Kolmelle kymmenelle miehelle, to thirty-six men.

But in the Kalevala, one finds such expressions as löyti kuusia jyviä, Seitsemiä siemeniä.

D. If the number and substantive have a pronoun or adjective agreeing with them, this latter is put in the plural and in the same case as the number. But the substantive obeys the preceding rules, if the attribute is in the nominative plural, the verb is also in the plural. Nämät viisi poikaa tulivat kotia, these five boys come home. Anna leipää näille viidelle pojalle, give some bread to these five boys.

N.B. In all the numbers except yksi the accusative is the same as the nominative. Näin kaksi miestä, I saw two men. Ampui viisi lintuja; he shot five birds; but Näin yhden miehen, I saw one man.

Expression of a date.

I. To express the year the word vuosi is employed, and a cardinal number after it. If vuosi is used in the local or in the essive case this number is not inflected. Vuonna tuhatta (or tuhat) kahdeksan sataa kahdeksankymmentä yhdeksän, in the year 1889.

But if the genitive of vuosi is used, then the number is also put in the genitive. Vuoden tuhatta kahdeksan sataa kahdeksankymmentä viiden sato, the harvest of 1885.

II. The day of the month is expressed in two ways.

(1) First comes the name of the month in the genitive, then an ordinal number in the essive, and the word päivänä. Maaliskuun kolmantena päivänä, March 3.

(2) Or the numeral and päivänä come first, and are followed by the name of the month in the partitive. Kolmantena päivänä Maaliskuuta.

III. The hour expressed by the word kello, which remains under all circumstances invariable, followed by a cardinal numeral which can be inflected. Kello on kuusi, it is six o’clock. Nousen kello neljältä, I get up at five o’clock.

The half hours are expressed in much the same way as in German or Russian. Half past four, puoli viisi; half past five, puoli kuusi; half past six, puoli seitsemän, etc. A quarter past five is expressed by se on neljänneksen yli viisi (five plus a quarter), and a quarter to six by se on neljännestä vailla kuusi (six minus a quarter).

The names of the days of the week and months are as follows:—

Sunday

Sunnuntai .

Monday

Maanantai .

Tuesday

Tiitai .

Wednesday

Keskiviikko .

Thursday

Torstai .

Friday

Perjantai .

Saturday

Lauantai .

January

Tammikuu .

February

Helmikuu .

March

Maaliskuu .

April

Huhtikuu .

May

Toukokuu .

June

Kesäkuu .

July

Heinäkuu .

August

Elokuu .

September

Syyskuu .

October

Lokakuu .

November

Marraskuu .

December

Joulukuu .

THE VERB.

The moods and tenses of the Finite verb in Finnish are very simple.

The present and imperfect with the compound tenses called perfect and pluperfect form the entire indicative mood.

I. The present indicates—

(1) An habitual action, or an action which is going on at the present time. Joka päivä hän lukee sanomalehden alusta loppuun saakka, every day he reads the newspaper through from one end to the other. Mihin menette? Menemme metsään, where are you going? we are going to the wood. When it is desired to emphasise the fact that some one is engaged in an action at the present time, such phrases as he ovat kalastamassa, they are fishing, may be used (v. p. 191).

(2) A future action, as we say ‘he comes to-morrow.’ Some distinction is made between these two uses by the fact that while a verb representing an action as going on always takes an object in the partitive, a verb which represents an action as to be completed in the future takes an object in the genitive. Kirjoitan kirjettä, I am writing a letter; huomenna kirjoitan kirjeen, I shall write a letter to-morrow. Kun saan tietää missä asuu, niin menen hänen luo, when I know where he lives I shall go and see him.

(3) In a few expressions the present indicative is used in a concessive sense. Maksaa mitä maksaa, cost what it may. Sano mitä sanot, say what you will.

II. The imperfect is used in two senses:—

(1) It denotes an action in past time, either habitual or isolated, either continuous or momentary; it thus corresponds to several past tenses in other languages. Seuraavana päivänä tuli nuori rouva aamiais-pöytään, kun muut olivat lopettaneet, next day the young lady came down to breakfast when the rest had finished. Tapasitko sisartani? did you meet my sister? En tavannut, I did not meet her. Joka päivä lähti hän kävelemään pääkadulle, every day he took a walk in the principal street. Lohi loimahti merehen, the salmon jumped into the sea. Itki yötä kaksi kolme, he wept two or three nights.

(2) It is also used like the present in a concessive sense, but much more frequently than that tense. Kävi miten kävi, asiaan on ryhtyttävä, come what may, the business must be begun. Oli kumpi hyvänsä, whichever of the two it is. Cf. such expressions as kuka niitä kaikkia muisti? Lempo niitä ymmärsi.

It is noticeable that in the narrative portions of the Kalevala and other poems the present and imperfect are used almost indifferently (v. extracts at end of book). Perhaps the sound of the terminations pi and vi, which, like the imperfect, end in i, made the confusion easier.

III. The perfect corresponds pretty nearly to the tense formed with the auxiliary have in English. Olemme maanneet vähän aikaa niin lähdemme järvelle koko yöksi, we have slept a little and are going out on the lake for the whole night. Oletteko ennen kuulleet sitä laulua? have you heard that song before? En ole nähnyt häntä moneen aikaan, I have not seen him for a long time.

IV. The pluperfect expresses an action finished in past time, and may be rendered by had in English. Kun hän sen sanonut oli, meni hän taas ulos, when he had said this he went out again. Oliko hän ehkä saanut tiedon asiasta? had he by any chance heard of the matter?

It will be observed that there is no real future tense in Finnish. Its want is supplied in several ways.

A. By the present tense as described above.

B. By a periphrastic conjugation consisting of the present participle and the present or imperfect of olla. This corresponds to the Russian future with буду, and denotes a future action the time of which is not specified. Ennenkuin päivät tulevat koskas olet sanova...., before the days come in which thou shalt say.... (Eccl. xii. 1). Hän on vapahtava kansansa heidän synneistänsä, He shall save His people from their sins.

C. By the concessive. This tense is frequently used to imply something probable or doubtful in the future. Ostanevat kaupungista kirjat ja tuonevat ne jo huomenna kotia, they will probably buy new books and bring them home to-morrow. Tappaneeko hän itsensä? (S. John viii. 22) will he kill himself?

D. By the conditional, especially in conditional sentences. Tulisin huomenna, jos ehtisin, I shall come to-morrow, if I have time. Isäntä ei palkitsisi sinua ennenkuin olisit työsi lopettanut, your master will not pay you before you finish your work.

E. Various periphrases are used, particularly when there is any idea of necessity or obligation in the future. The following examples taken from the translation of the Bible will show this. Minä saan nähdä hänen, mutta en nyt, I shall see him, but not now (Num. xxiv. 17, but the passage continues minä katselen häntä waan en lästä). Teidän pitää minua etsimän, ye shall seek me (S. John vii. 34). Sillä ei sitä pidä unhotettaman heidän siemenensä suussa, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed (Deut. xxxi. 21). Autuaat ovat siviät sillä he saavat maan periä, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth (S. Matt. v. 5).

The Concessive.

This mood represents an action as possible, and is particularly used in questions, or in sentences introduced by such particles as ehkä, which imply a doubt or question.

It has two tenses.

I. The present, implying a potential action in the present or future. Lieneekö totta mitä sanotaan? is it likely that what people say is true? Hän sen parhaiten tietänee, he probably knows best. Jos et tuostana totelle, if thou willst not obey that. Osannet palkan ottaa, osaa työkin tehdä, wouldst thou know how to receive the reward, learn how to do the work. Sureneeko Jumala härkiä? doth God care for oxen? Ei suattane sinua Saaren suurehen sukuhun, they are not likely to tolerate your alliance with the great family of the island (Kal. xi. 71).

II. The past, implying a potential action in past time. Hän lienee luullut minua toiseksi, he probably thought I was some one else. Ei liene sinua luotu Ison tammen taittajaksi (Kal. ii. 145), thou art probably not created to break the mighty oak. Lieneekö hän arvanuut ketä puhutteli? did he know with whom he spoke?

The Conditional.

The conditional mood has two tenses, the present and past, which denote an action dependent on certain conditions in present or past time.

It is used:—

(1) In conditional, comparative, and concessive sentences, both in the protasis and apodosis. When used in the sentence introduced by jos, or some similar particle, the present implies that the condition is not yet realised, and the past that it has not been. But this distinction is not always observed, the present being used of a condition not realized in the past. Jos menisitte tässä myrskyssä järvelle niin hukkuisitte, if you were to go on the lake in this storm you would be drowned. Parempi olisi ollut Ilman impenä eleä, it would have been better to live as the virgin of the air (Kal. i. 161). Jos varani myöntäisivät niin matkustaisin ulkomaille, if my means allowed me I should go abroad. Kukapa ... käkiä kukutteleisi, Lintusia laulattaisi, Jos minä menisin muunne, Saisin marja muille maille. Jos tämä kana katoisi, Tämä hanhi hairahtaisi, etc. (Kal. x. 441 ff.).

The word jos is sometimes omitted and replaced by the interrogative suffix -ko after the verb. Kal. xi. 95:—Nauraisitko Saaren naiset, Pitäisit pyhäiset piiat, Niin siitä tora tulisi, Sota suuri lankeaisi, were you to seduce the maidens of the island a quarrel would come of it and a great war fall on us.

(2) In final sentences to express the object of an action. Ilmoittakaat minulle että minäkin tulisin ja kummartaisin häntä (S. Matt. ii. 8), bring me word that I may come and worship him also. Kirjoitan hänelle että hän toimittaisi sen asian, I am writing to him that he may undertake the affair. Olkaa hiljaa, lapset, että saisin rauhassa työskennellä, be quiet, children, that I may work in peace. Ava suusi suuremmaksi ... pääsisin mahasta maalle (Kal. xvii. 583), open thy mouth ... that I may come forth from thy stomach.

(3) In temporal and relative sentences when the temporal particle or relative involves some idea of purpose, capacity, etc. En tahtonut ruveta kirjoittamaan ennenkuin saisin varman tiedon asiasta, I did not wish to write before I received certain news of the affair. Päätin lakkauttaa kauppaliikkeeni kunnes ajat paranisivat, I determined to close my business till the times should be better. Sen mä mieheksi sanoisin, Urohoksi arveleisin, Joka jouseni vetäisi, Kiveräni kiinnittäisi. (Kal. xxvi. 357). N.B. The conditional is used only if the principal verb is in a past tense or conditional.

(4) In Oratio Obliqua.

a. After verbs of wishing, asking, commanding, etc. Käske että palvelija valjastaisi hevosen, tell the servant to get the horse harnessed. Tahdotko että se heti tehtäisiin? do you wish it to be done at once?

b. To represent the imperative in the Oratio recta. Isäntä sanoi että rengit menisivät pellolle, the master told the servants to go to the fields. Hän viitasi että he vaikenisivat, he motioned to them to be silent.

(5) As a polite form of statement, request, or question, from which, as mentioned above, it often comes to be used as a future. Minä luulisin että hän ostaisi talonne, I should think he would buy your house. Voisitteko kertoa minulle? can you tell me? Tahtoisin puhua kanssanne, I should like to talk to you. Näyttäisitte minulle, please show me. Enkö saisi ...? can I have ...? Menisitte noutamaan yhdet hyyryvaunut, please go and call a cab.

(6) To express a wish with such particles as jos, jospa, kunhan, etc. Jospa hän tulisi! if he would only come! Jospa olisin tietänyt! had I only known! Kunhan tuttuni tulisi! if my friend would but come!

Imperative and Optative.

Though these moods are given as two in the Accidence on account of the slight difference in their form, they may be treated as one syntactically, as they supply one another’s deficiencies, the imperative being only used in the 2nd sing. and 1st and 2nd persons plur., and the optative only in the 2nd sing. and the 3rd person singular and plural. In poetry a 2nd pers. plur. optative ending in otte is occasionally found. There is no difference between the meaning of the two in 2nd person singular.

The imperative expresses:—

I. A command or request. Lähe nyt kanssa laulamahan, come to sing with me (Kal. i. 14). Toki tullos toinen kerta, come again (Kal. v. 137). Käy pian välehen jou’u, go quickly and finish the business (Kal. l. 211). Ellös menkö poikaseni Parempikin itseäsi, aspire not, my son, to those that are better than thyself (Kal. xi. 69).

II. A condition. Sano mitä sanot, en siitä kuitenkaan välitä, you may say what you like, but I don’t care. Teen minä sen vaikka hän kieltäköönkin, I shall do it, even though he forbid it.

The Passive.

The passive, as has already been mentioned in the Accidence, is impersonal. Käytetään means there is a using, or one uses, people use. The clearest proof of the real character of the form is to be found in the fact that the verb substantive olla, to be, has a so-called passive.

Examples:—Niin kohta kun ollaan tultu, as soon as people come. Ennen oltiin terveempiä, people were healthier formerly. Siihen oltaneen tyytyväisiä, this will probably prove satisfactory (people will be satisfied with this). Järvellä oltaessa tuuli kovasti, while they were on the lake, the wind blew violently.

(1) The passive of ordinary verbs is used absolutely; that is to say, no noun is connected with it as subject or object. Koulussa kirjoitetaan ja luetaan, they read and write in the school. Helsingissä huvitellaan paljo talven aikoina, there is much amusement in Helsingfors in winter time. Suomen järvissä ja joissa kalastetaan, people fish (or there is fishing) in the lakes and rivers of Finland.

(2) As the above examples show, the passive represents the action of a verb without designating the agent. It is not unnatural that such forms should be used in an imperative or optative sense, for the second singular of the imperative is simply the root of the verb. It is true that the imperative is the closed root, due to the loss of k, but like the passive it has no sign of person.

This use of the passive for the imperative is particularly common in dialects, though it is also found in the literary language. Its usual meaning is ‘Let us.’ Mennään sisään, let us go in. Luetaan, let us read, or it’s time to read. Lähdetään kotia, we ought to go home. Mennäänkö jalan vain ajetaanko hevosella? Shall we go on foot, or take a carriage?

(3) This use of the passive for the imperative is important as explaining the common use of the form with a nominative case. Such a phrase as mies tunnetaan can be correctly translated as the man is known; but there is no doubt that the nominative is really the object of an impersonal verb, which naturally remains invariable, whatever the noun is. Now the object of the imperative is also put in the nominative and not in the accusative, though both in the case of the imperative and the passive it may be put in the partitive, if partial. It would seem that in these forms of the verbs, where the agent is not denoted by any suffix, it was felt that the sense was sufficiently clear without adding any termination to the noun to mark its exact relation to the verb.

The object of the passive, as above stated, can be either in the nominative, if total, or in the partitive, if partial.

a. Nominative. Koira ajetaan huoneesta ulos, the dog is sent out of the room. Palvelija lähetetään viemään kirjettä postiin, the servant is sent to take a letter to the post. Hevoset valjastetaan, the horses are being harnessed. Ruis kylvetään syksyllä, rye is sown in the autumn. Keskellä yötä sammutetaan tulet, the lights are put out at midnight. Tässä sodassa tapettiin viisikymmentä tuhatta miestä, fifty thousand men were killed in this war.

b. Partitive. Miksi sanotaan sitä Englannin kielellä? What is that called in English? Jos ei aleta varhain, niin ei työtä saada aikanansa valmiiksi, the work won’t be ready in time if not begun early. Poikaa ei vielä pantu kouluun, the boy was no longer sent to school. Ei vielä ollut uutta kirkkoa rakennettu, the new church had not yet been built. Ei kynttilätä sytytetä ja panna wakan ala, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, S. Matt. v. 15.

When the personal pronouns are used with the verb, it is commoner, particularly in speaking, to put them in the accusative ending in t, e.g. minut, sinut, hänet nähdään, is more usual than minä, sinä, hän nähdään. But the form with the nominative is not only grammatically correct, but found in writing, especially in the Bible, e.g. Rom. viii. 36, Sinun tähtes me kuoletetaan yli päivää: me pidetään niinkuin teurastettavat lampaat, for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Similarly 2 Cor. xi. 36, Kuka pahoitetaan ja en minä pala? Who is offended and I burn not. Sillä he ravitaan, for they shall be filled, S. Matt. v. 6. Että te heiltä nähtäisiin, that ye may be seen of them, S. Matt. vi. 1[15].

The conjugation of a passive form contains not only the strictly impersonal forms, like luetaan, people read, luettiin, people did read, but also compound tenses formed with the past passive participle which stand grammatically upon a different footing. For the participle in question is a simple adjective (or substantive), and such phrases as kirja on luettu, kirjat ovat luetut are exactly analogous to kirja on hyvä and kirjat ovat hyvät. In some cases, however, double constructions are possible: one can say either kirjat eivät ole löydetyt, the books have not been found, which is a simple adjectival construction; or kirjoja ei ole löydetty, in which the construction with the participle is assimilated to that with the other forms of the verb. If a participle of olla is employed in a compound tense in this construction it must be the passive participle. Kirjaa ei oltu löydetty, the book was not found.

INFINITIVES.

The five infinitives of the Finnish verb play a great part in the syntax, and are often used to express the subordinate sentences (temporal, final, etc.) of other languages. The simplest way to understand their many uses is to recollect that they are equivalent to an English verbal ending in ing, such as cutting. Now a word like this is a noun, but it can also have an object, e.g. cutting the wood, and it can be also combined with a substantive or pronoun indicating the agent, e.g. my cutting the wood or the man’s cutting the wood. Such expressions as my cutting the wood is unavoidable, during my cutting the wood, or without my cutting the wood are intelligible in English, though not idiomatic; but they are the literal translation of the Finnish idiom. In other words, the infinitive is a noun capable of declension in certain cases and of being combined with a genitive or personal affix to mark the agent. As it is also a verbal noun, it is likewise capable of being combined with a second substantive to mark the object of the action. Thus nähdessänsä minun päiväni is literally ‘in his seeing my day,’ that is when he saw. The use of the fourth infinitive is slightly different. In the phrase Minun on tämä kirja lukeminen, I should read this book, it will be observed that the object is in the nominative. This is because the literal meaning seems to be, This book is a reading for me, though it must be admitted that the negative form Ei ole minun tätä kirjaa lukemista does not lend itself to this explanation, and can only be explained by supposing it is due to analogy. The object of the other infinitives is mostly put in the partitive, partly perhaps because, as the genitive and accusative are identical in form in the singular, the subject and object might be confused if the latter were in the accusative. The object is, however, often put in the nominative. The rule generally given is that this is only right if the infinitive depends on an imperative or a verb implying necessity, as minun pitää ostaman hevonen, I must buy a horse. But this rule is not always observed in the Kalevala, or even in modern books. E.g. Kal. xi. 127, Onko saarella sioa minun leikki lyöäkseni?

Infinitive I.

The first infinitive has two forms, one with the translative termination and always used with a prominal suffix; the other with no case termination and used without a pronominal suffix.

A. The longer form with the suffix is used to express the purpose of the action of the main verb, and is rendered in English by in order to or by a simple infinitive. Antakaa vettä juodakseni, give me water to drink. This is of course literally give me water for my drinking, and is exactly analogous to the use of the same case of a noun in the sentence, Juon vettä terveydekseni, I drink water for my health. It is important to notice that the pronominal suffix always indicates the subject of the action denoted by the infinitive, and not the object, though in translation it is often necessary to invert the sentence. For instance in S. John vii. 19 and 20 the questions ‘Why go ye about to kill me? Who goeth about to kill thee?’ are rendered Miksi te etsitte minua tappaaksenne? Kuka sinua etsii tapaaksensa? literally Why seek ye me for your killing? Who seeks thee for his killing? Me pyysimme venettä soutaaksemme, we asked for a boat to row in. Menkäämme tuolle vuorelle katsellaksemme järveä, let us go up that hill to have a view of the lake. Tahdon lukea laskun nähdäkseni onko kaikki oikein, I want to read the bill to see if everything is right. Oli paljon matkustellut ulkomailla täydentääkseen sivistystään, he had travelled much abroad to complete his education. The distinction between the uses of the longer and shorter forms of the infinitive is not always observed in dialects and poetry. Thus the longer form is used with impersonal verbs, e.g. Sinun täytyy mennäksesi, you must go, where mennä would now be used. So too Älä pelkää ottaaksesi, fear not to take. Kal. i. 165, Wilu tääll’ on ollakseni, Waiva wärjätelläkseni, Aalloissa asuakseni, Weessä wierielläkseni, it is cold for me to be here, painful to stay, to dwell in the waves, to roll in the water. Cf. Kal. xliii. 401, and xvii. 507.

B. The fact that the last syllable of the shorter form of the first infinitive is closed shows that it has undoubtedly lost a letter or syllable. It is probable therefore that the short form is not really the nominative from which the translative is derived, but a translative which has lost its termination. Cf. luo, taa for luoksi, taaksi. The employment of the form is also agreeable to its origin, for its manifold uses, as given in grammars, may be summed up in the formula that it defines the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and substantives; that is to say, it expresses that towards which an action tends, which is one of the uses of the translative (p. 159). Such phrases as voin, tahdon, tiedän lukea, I can read, wish to read, or know how to read might be expressed as I have power, will, or knowledge for reading.

In some cases the use of the translative and this infinitive are obviously analogous. Ei sovi suuttua, it is not fitting to be angry. Hän sopii sotamieheksi, he is fit for a soldier. Ei minun kelpaa juoda vettä, it does not suit me to drink water, can be also expressed in the form, Vesi ei kelpaa minulle juotavaksi (or juomaksi).

The short form of this infinitive never takes suffixes in ordinary Finnish, though it does occasionally in the Kalevala; e.g. the first lines Mieleni minun tekevi, Aivoni ajattelevi, Lähteäni laulamahan, Saa’ani sanelemahan. Onko saarella sioa ... Minun laulut laulellani, is there a place on the island for me to sing my song (Kal. xxix. 137). Cf. Onpa saarella sioa ... Sinun laulut laulellasi (ib. 147).

The subject of the infinitive, which in the longer form is denoted by a suffix, is in the case of the shorter form either not expressed at all in such a phrase as Isä antoi kirjan pojalle lukea, the father gave the boy the book to read; or it is put in the genitive. Isä toi kirjan pojan lukea, the father bought the book for the boy to read, literally for the boy’s reading.

The short form of the infinitive is used:—

(1) As the subject of impersonal verbs like täytyy, tulee, kelpaa.

Paha koira tarvitsee tappaa, one ought to kill a bad dog. Täytyy köyhän kärsiä, pitää kiittää päälliseksi, the poor must endure and give thanks into the bargain (proverbs). Sinun tulee puhua totta, you must speak the truth.

In this use two constructions are possible. One can say either talossa pitää olla isäntä, the master must be in the house, or Isännän pitää olla talossa. In this latter case the fact of the obligation affecting the person is emphasized, while the sentence with the nominative means rather, the master’s being in the house is necessary.

(2) As the complement of the verb olla combined with an adjective or substantive. Se kirja on hyödyllinen pojan lukea, this book is useful for the boy to read. Ei ole aikaa lähteä, it is not time to go. Pyyntösi on mahdoton kenenkään täyttää, your prayer is impossible for anyone to fulfil. Tämä kuorma on raskas sinun kantaa, this burden is hard for you to bear. On vaikea sanoa, it is hard to say.

(3) It is used to define the meaning of verbs. Talon mies ei osaa lukea, the farm servant does not know how to write. Alkaa sataa, it begins to rain. Laiska lapsi ei tahdo oppia, a lazy child does not want to learn. Hän ei ymmärrä puhua, he does not know how to speak. En voi tulla, I cannot come. Hän saa odottaa, he can wait. Aiotko viipyä täällä, do you mean to stay here. Sallitteko minun mennä? do you allow me to go? Klaus lähteä lupasi, Klaus promised to go (Kanteletar).

(4) It is used much like the longer form to express the object of an action. Tuo kala muidenkin katsella, bring the fish for others to see. Panen maata, I am going to bed. Onko teillä hevosta myödä? have you a horse to sell? Arvelevi miten olla kuin eleä, he considered what he should do, how he should live.

There is another use of this infinitive, when it is employed with a verb of kindred meaning in an adverbial sense. This use is very frequent in the Kalevala and poetry and occasionally found in prose. It is to be noted, however, that the infinitive generally represents what would be the principal verb in ordinary language, while the verb in the indicative indicates the manner in which the action is performed. Thus such a phrase as astua taputtelevi, means walking he stamped or he stamped as he walked. Härkä käyä källeröitti (Kal. xx. 43), equivalent to astui keveästi; cf. Astua lykyttelevi, Käyä kulleroittelevi (Kal. ii. 165). Waka vanha Wäinämöinen Ajoa karittelevi (Kal. viii. 18). Soutoa melastelevi (Kal. v. 41). Astua ajattelevi, Käyä kääpäröittelevi. Polttaa tuprutteli havannaansa.

The first infinitive is hardly ever used in the passive form, but the active form may be used with a passive verb or in sentences where our idiom would use the passive infinitive. Rautatie aiotaan rakentaa, the railway is meant to be built or there is an intention to build the railway. Linnoitus voidaan ottaa, the fortress can be taken.

The infinitive cannot be used with a negative on account of the peculiar character of the Finnish negative verb. For the various devices used to overcome this difficulty vide pages 193 and 219.

Infinitive II.

This infinitive is only employed in two cases, the inessive and the instructive.

(1) The inessive expresses an action coincident in time with the action of the principal verb, and must be rendered in English by a temporal sentence, the subject of which appears in Finnish as a genitive, but where the subject of the principal and subordinate sentences are the same in English, the infinitive takes a pronominal suffix. Palvelijan tullessa kotiin, isäntä läksi metsään, when the servant came home, the master went into the wood, or literally ‘on the coming home of the servant.’ Abraham teidän isänne iloitsi nähdessänsä minun päivääni (S. John viii. 56), your father Abraham rejoiced to see (when he saw) my day. Ollessani teidän kanssanne, when I was with you. Astuessansa ahoa, Saloviertä vierressänsä kuuli (Kal. xliv. 77), as he went through the desert place, as he walked near the wood he heard.

This infinitive is frequently used in the passive. Kaskea poltettaessa, while the forest was burning. Kotiin tultaessa ei ollut ketäkään, on coming home, there was no one. Kal. iii. 245, Eikä lie sinua nähty ... Tätä maata saataessa, Ilmoa suettaessa, etc.

The active infinitive is also used impersonally. Aika menee arvellessa, päivä päätä käännellessä, time passes while one thinks, and the day while one turns one’s head (proverb).

As the Finnish negative, owing to its peculiar character, cannot be used with the infinitive, a negative temporal proposition is rendered by the abessive or infinitive III, and the inessive of infinitive II. Lukematta istuessani, when I was not reading; literally, in my sitting without reading.

(2) The instructive of infinitive II is used to express the manner in which an action is performed, and is generally rendered by a participle in English. If the subject of the infinitive is expressed (in which case it must be rendered otherwise than by a participle) it is put in the genitive. This form is not used in the passive.

Astui huollen huokaellen, he walked sorrowing and groaning (Kal. v. 13). Muu seura vaikeni, jättäen heidät kahden kesken sanaotteluun, the rest of the company was silent, leaving them to argue it out between themselves. Toisinaan sydämellisesti syleillen erosivat, after again heartily embracing they parted. Hän ei ollut ollenkaan ruma nuorukainen, he was not at all a bad looking young man (literally, was not in his being).

A few words, chiefly denoting perception, add suffixes to this infinitive. Sanoin sen heidän kuultensa, I said it in their hearing. Hän teki sen rikoksen teidän tietenne, he committed this crime with your knowledge.

Infinitive III.

The substantival nature of the Finnish infinitives is most apparent in this form, for it is frequently used as a noun without any verbal signification, e.g. kuolema, death; elämä, life; sanoma, speaking or report. Such a sentence as kuvat ovat maalarin tekemät, which may be rendered either the pictures are the work of the painter, or, are made by the painter, shows the connection between the purely substantival and verbal uses of this infinitive.

Its other uses are very various.

I. It is used as a past passive participle. Tämä kirja on isän antama, this book has been given by my father, or, is the giving of my father. Minä luen isän antamaa kirjaa, I read the book given by my father. As there is no real distinction between the noun and the adjective, this use of a verbal substantive as a participle is not unnatural. Kirjoittamassansa kirjeessä hän ei ollut puhunut mitään tästä, in the letter he wrote he did not say a word about it. Omat on virret oppimani, Omat saamani sanaiset.

This infinitive is as a rule only used as a past participle when the agent is indicated, but in the Kalevala it is found used as simple past participle without a genitive or affix. Kal. i. 51, Viel’ on muitaki sanoja, Ongelmoita oppimia, Tieohesta tempomia, Kanervoista katkomia, Risukoista riipomia, Vesoista vetelemiä, Päästä heinän hieromia, Raitiolta ratkomia.

II. Most of the other cases of this infinitive are found used in a verbal signification.

A. The case ending in n (which is considered by some grammarians as a genitive, and by others, with greater probability, as an instructive) is used with the impersonal verb pitää. Ei sinun pidä tappaman, thou shalt do no murder. Hänen pitää oleman ankara, he should be firm. This form is also used in the passive. Lapset pitää otettaman mukaan, one should take one’s children with one. Työt pitää saataman aikanansa valmiiksi, the work should be got ready in time.

B. The inessive expresses the action in which anyone is engaged. He ovat oleet jo kauan kalastamassa, they have long been fishing. Hän on lintuja ampumassa, he is out shooting. Rupean käymään usein lukemassa englantilaisia sanomalehtiä, I shall often read the English papers.

C. The elative expresses an action from which anyone ceases, or which is forbidden. He tulivat kotia kalastamasta, they came home from fishing. Milloin hyvänsä tuli huoneesen tapasi hänen aina lukemasta, whenever one went into her room one always found her reading (v. p. 145). Hän kielsi lapsia riitelemästä, he forbade the children to quarrel. Jumala pelasti miehen hukkumasta, God preserved the man from drowning.

D. The illative is used:—

(1) After verbs, adjectives, and participles, which imply either literally or figuratively motion to perform an action (v. the uses of the illative given above). Mies meni järvelle kalastamaan, the man has gone to fish on the lake. Neuvon teitä kääntymään Herra V:n puoleen, I advise you to apply to Mr. V. Ruvennee tulemaan lunta, it will probably snow. Koko talo rupeaa palamaan, the whole house takes fire. Hän ei ole tottunut säästelemään, he was not accustomed to live economically. Minua käskettiin menemään pois, I was ordered to leave.

(2) From such uses the illative passes naturally into an infinitive of purpose. Tulin kysymään, I have come to ask. Lähettivät palvelijat häntä ottamaan kiini, they sent servants to take him. Meni puhdistamaan itseänsä, he went to purify himself. Menemme puutarhaan juomaan kahvia, let us go to take coffee in the garden.

E. The adessive has two meanings, corresponding to the two uses of that case in nouns.

(1) With the verb olla it denotes an action which one is on the point of performing. The infinitive always takes a pronominal suffix in this use. Olen juuri lähtemälläni, I am just going, literally, I am on my departing. Olin tekemälläni tuhmuuden, I was on the point of committing a folly.

(2) It expresses the means by which an action is performed. Ostamalla kaikkia saapi, one gets everything by buying. Hauskempaa on kalastaa onkimalla kuin tarpomalla, it is more agreeable to catch fish by angling than by netting. Pelasti henkensä uimalla, he saved his life by swimming. Viittomalla osoiti hän meille tien, he showed us the way by waving his hand.

F. The abessive expresses an action without which the action of the principal verb takes place. It is very largely used in Finnish to express what is represented by negative sentences in other languages, on account of the restrictions on the use of the negative words en, et, ei, etc. It can take the pronominal suffixes. Viivyttämättä, without delay. Mies meni pois kenenkään huomaamatta, the man went away without any one remarking it. Sen asian tunnen sanomattasikin, I know that without your saying a word. Hänen hyväsydäminen isänsä ei voinut olla hänelle antamatta tulevaa perintöösuutta, her good-natured father could not help giving her the part of her inheritance due to her.

In examples like this the abessive of this infinitive (often with the verb olla) serves as a negative form of the other infinitives. Tahtoisin tulla, I should like to come; but Tahtoisin olla tulematta, I should like not to come (to be without coming). Hän läksi minun nähteni, he went out while I was looking. Hän läksi minun näkemättäni, he went out without my seeing.

This infinitive is also used in a passive sense, though not in a passive form. Työ on vielä tekemättä, the work is not yet done (lit. is without doing). In this sense it serves as a negative of the past passive participle.

This case of the infinitive III is very common in the Kalevala. E.g. iv. 217, Parempi minun olisi, Parempi olisi ollut Syntymättä, kasvamatta, Suureksi sukeumatta, which is equivalent to, better had it been for me not to have been born, xliii. 417, Vihoin päivän paistamatta, Vihoin kuun kumottamatta, etc.

Infinitive IV.

The fourth infinitive, like the third, is used as a simple substantive. Se on parhain keino sen oppimiseen, that is the best means for the study of it. Viipymisesi on sinua paljo vahingoitanut, your delay has greatly injured you.

There is also a use of this infinitive analogous to that of infinitive I mentioned above, p. 188. In order to express a continued action the verb is repeated in the partitive of infinitive IV with the pronominal suffix. Vähetä vähenemistään, to grow less and less. Äiti kiivastui kiivastumistaan tyttärensä itsepintaisuudesta, the mother grew more and more furious at her daughter’s obstinacy. Päivä alenee alenemistaan, the sun sinks lower and lower.

The fourth infinitive is used verbally in two cases:—

(1) In the nominative, as the subject to the verb olla in affirmative sentences. It then denotes the necessity or propriety of performing an action, the subject of which is put in the genitive. Minun on tämä kirja lukeminen, I ought to read this book, or literally, this book is a reading for me. Meidän on tottuminen siihen, we must get used to it. Tehty kauppa kiittäminen, tekemätön tietäminen, one should praise a bargain which is made, but enquire into one which is not yet made (prov.). Copious examples can be found in Kal. xxiii. 61, Tapa on uusi ottaminen, Entinen unohtaminen, etc.

(2) The partitive is, agreeably to general rules, used in a similar sense in negative sentences, or interrogative sentences implying a negative. Ei ole minun tätä kirjaa lukemista, I need not read this book. Ei koiraa karvoihin katsomista, one must not judge a dog by his coat. Ei pojan isäänsä opettamista, a son should not teach his father.

In such phrases as minulla on vielä paljo sanomista, I have still much to say, the partitive depends on the word paljo, just as it does in such a sentence as paljo rahaa, much money.

Infinitive V.

This infinitive is only a diminutive form derived from infinitive III. As a rule, it is only used in one case, the adessive plural, to denote an action on the point of taking place (cf. infinitive III, E. 1). It always takes the pronominal suffix. Olin työtä alottamaisillani, I was on the point of beginning to work. Juna on juuri lähtemäisillänsä, the train is just going. Aurinko oli katoamaisillaan, the sun was just going to set. Yhtiö on muodostumaisillaan, the company is on the point of being formed. Mies oli kaatamaisillaan puuta, the man was on the point of felling the tree.

PARTICIPLES.

The participles may be called verbal adjectives, just as the infinitives are verbal substantives. But, as has already been observed, there is no clear distinction between adjectives and substantives in the Finnish language, and the participles are used substantively in many constructions, just as the third infinitive is used adjectively. They sometimes lose all temporal signification and become mere adjectives, as oppinut, learned; väsynyt, tired; mädännyt, rotten.

When used with a verbal meaning the present participles (part. I) indicate an action beginning or continuing, and the past participles (part. II) an action which is completed. The temporal signification is not very marked. It is noticeable that the passive participles have two distinct meanings, one impersonal like the rest of the so-called passive verb, the other distinctly passive.

All the participles can be used—

(1) As attributes or predicates.

(2) To form the compound tenses of verbs in conjunction with the verb olla, after the manner already explained.

Participle I—Active.

This participle denotes an action taking place or which is to take place in the future, just as the present indicative represents both a present and future tense. Lentävä lintu saa jotakin, istuva ei mitään, the bird who flies catches something: the bird who sits still nothing. Ei työtä tekevä nälkään kuole, the man who works does not die of hunger. Kysyvä ei tieltä eksy, he who asks does not lose his way. Hukkuva oljen korteenkin tarttuu, a drowning man catches at a straw (provs.).

In the combination with the verb olla it has a future signification (v. p. 176).

The essive of this participle is used with the verb olla to signify something pretended by the subject. In this sense it is often in the plural, though the subject itself is singular. Hän on olevinansa (or olevanansa) oppinut, he pretends to be learned. Hän on paljonkin tietävinänsä, he thinks he knows a great deal. Hän oli lähtevänänsä eilen, mutta ei mennyt, he pretended he was starting yesterday, but did not go. So also it is used in speaking of dreams and hallucinations. Minä olin näkevinäni, I thought I saw. Gen. xxxvii. 7, Katso, me olimme sitovanamme jalallisia wainiolla (of a dream); cf. Gen. xli. 17, Unessani olin minä seisovana.

Words ending in ja as a rule correspond to English forms in er. E.g. rakentaja, a builder; that is to say they denote an action, like the present participle, but do not define the time in any way. Sometimes, however, they are used exactly like the present participle, e.g. Kal. xvi. 169, Se oli poukkujen pesiä Räpähien räimyttäjä, which means, not she was a washerwoman, but she was washing clothes. Similarly, Pappi oli ristijänä, the priest was christening a child. Cf. Kal. x. 111, Miesten syöjille sioille.

Participle II—Active.

The past active participle expresses an action, which has taken place at any past time. Ei ole vuoksen voittanutta, Yli käynyttä Imatran (Kal. iii. 182), there is no (waterfall) that has conquered the Vuoksa or surpassed Imatra. Äijä on tänne tullehia, Ei paljo palannehia (Kal. xvi. 270), there are many who have come down here, not many who have gone back. Alkää häiritkö nukkunutta, wake not the sleeper.

The translative singular of this participle is used in connection with the verb tulla to denote an incidental or chance action. Hän tuli sanoneeksi, kertoneeksi ..., he happened to say in the course of conversation ... Mennessään kaupunkiin tuli nähneeksi ..., as he went to the town he happened to see ... Puodissa käydessään tuli ostaneeksi uuden maton, in going round the shops he happened to buy a new carpet. Cf. Kal. ii. 149, Sai toki sanoneheksi, scarce had he said it. Olkoon menneeksi, it does not matter, or let that pass.

Participle I—Passive.

This participle has not a simple temporal signification, but has always an idea of desirability, or necessity. Kunnioitettava Herra, a man to be honoured. In combination with the verb olla it can be used either as a simple adjective, e.g. se on korjattava, that should be corrected, or as a part of the impersonal passive verb, sitä on korjattava. It is sometimes used with a genitive of the agent like the infinitive. Sentähden oli etsittävä kahdenkeskistä yksinäisyyttä, on this account it was necessary to seek for a tête-à-tête interview. Sanokaa, mitä tietä minun on mentävä, tell me what road I should take. Tämä asia on meidän mielessämme pidettävä, we must keep that in mind.

The translative singular of this participle is used exactly like the illative of the third infinitive, but with a passive signification. Setä toi kirjoja lasten luettavaksi, the uncle brought books for the children to read (for the reading of the children). Hän antoi veitsen hiottavaksi, he gave the knife to be sharpened.

Participle II—Passive.

This participle is really a substantive expressing the result of the verb’s action. From this it passes easily to an adjectival meaning. For instance, työ on tehty, the work is a thing done, is much the same as the work is done. In combination with olla it is used to form tenses of the passive impersonal verb, and as such, can take an object, otherwise it has the same signification as the past passive participle in other languages. Puhuttu puhe ammuttu nuoli, a word once spoken is an arrow shot forth. Unhotettu maksettu velka, a debt paid is forgotten (proverbs). Jos mun tuttuni tulisi, if one known by me were to come.

It is noticeable that when used in this sense the past passive participle does not as a rule take the pronominal suffix. Thus one says, ostettu kirja, the book that has been bought, but by preference, ostamani kirja, the book that has been bought by me.

Part. II passive is also used substantively in the partitive singular to express an action antecedent to the action of the principal verb. As the original meaning of the partitive is motion from, this is very analogous to the use of the elative of infinitive III. Like other expressions of the same nature (e.g. the inessive of infinitive II) this use is rendered in English by a temporal sentence. The subject of that sentence is represented in Finnish by a genitive, or by a pronominal suffix, if the subjects of the principal and temporal sentence are the same.

Jopa tuonne tultuansa, Matkan päähän päästyänsä (Kal. xlii. 25), after he had come thither and reached the end of his journey. Muutaman päivän kuluttua, after a few days. Luettuaan sanomalehtiä ja syötyään aamiaisen, after he had read his paper and eaten his breakfast. Kävelyltään palattuaan, after returning from his walk. Juotuaan kolme, neljä lasia teetä, after drinking three or four glasses of tea. Sotamiehen kotiin palattua, when the soldier had come home. Päivän laskettua, when the sun had set.

As however this participle denotes a completed rather than a past action, it is sometimes used in cases where we have to translate it by a present participle. Kal. xvii. 593, Hyvin laait tultuasi, thou hast done well in coming. xlvi. 284, Terve, terve tultuasi (terve tuloa is a common expression), hail to thee in thy coming. These two examples show clearly the substantival character of the participle.

Use of Participles in Oblique Oration.

The participles have another use in Finnish—viz. they correspond to the construction known in Latin grammar as the accusative and infinitive in subordinate sentences.

In other words, a subordinate sentence which in English begins with the word that (and some others), and which might in Finnish be represented by a similar sentence beginning with että, can be put in a shorter and more idiomatic form by: (1) omitting the word että; (2) replacing the finite verb by the genitive singular of the participle; (3) representing the subject by a genitive, partitive, or pronominal affix. Thus se luulee että hän tekee Jumalalle palveluksen, he thinketh that he doeth God service becomes se luulee tekevänsä Jumalalle palveluksen.

The participle present is used in this construction when the action of the subordinate sentence is coincident with that of the principal sentence or future to it, and the past participle when the action of the subordinate sentence is anterior. He thinks he will receive the book, luulee kirjan saavansa. He thinks he has received the book, luulee kirjan saaneensa. Notice that a past tense does not require necessarily the past participle. Hän luuli lintuja olevan metsässä, he thought there were birds in the wood. Here the present participle is used because the action of the two verbs is contemporaneous.

The noun or pronoun which is the subject in the expanded sentence is put in the genitive when total, in the partitive when partial, and represented by the pronominal suffix when the subjects of the two sentences are the same. The participle remains in the genitive sing. whatever be the case or number of the subject.

This use is more frequent in affirmative than in negative sentences, but there is no objection to such sentences as En luule voivani tulla, I do not think I can come, where the principal verb is negatived. It is however very rarely used when the verb of the subordinate sentence is negatived (vide p. 220 for some curious irregularities in this respect).

Examples:—Kuin hän siis kuuli hänen sairastavan, when he heard he was ill. Luuletteko olevan mitä vaaraa? do you think there is any danger? Minä päivänä toivotte saapuvanne perille? on what day do you expect to arrive? En usko häntä näkeväni, I don’t believe I shall see him. Minä luulen sotamiesten jo saapuneen leiriin, I think the soldiers have already gone to the camp. En usko palvelijan varastaneen rahoja, I do not believe that the servant has stolen the money. Tiedän vieraita tulevan, I know that some strangers have come. Näin vettä satavan, I see that it is raining. Kuulin laivoja tulleen, I heard that some ships had arrived. When the verb olla is used in this construction, its complement remains in the same case as it would be in an expanded sentence, if it is in any case but the nominative singular.

Luulen että  {

vesi on hyvää ,

poika on terveenä ,

syytetyt ovat tuomitut kuolemaan .

become

Luulen  {

veden olevan hyvää

pojan olevan terveenä

syytettyjen olevan tuomitut kuolemaan .

But if the complement is a nominative singular it appears as a genitive singular when the subject is put in that case.

Luulen että poika on ahkera becomes Luulen pojan olevan ahkeran.

It is possible to still more abridge the proposition by rejecting olevan and putting the complement in the translative. Luulen pojan ahkeraksi. Tiesi hetkensä tulleeksi, he knew that his hour had come. Huomasin hänen menneeksi, I noticed he was gone. Kertoi veneen kaatuneeksi, he related that the boat had been upset (v. page 158).

If the predicate of the subordinate sentence in the expanded form is a passive verb, the passive participle can be used in the genitive singular. The subject of such a proposition is always in the partitive. As a rule only part. I passive is used in the genitive, part. II being generally in the translative according to the construction mentioned above.

Tiedän häntä odotettavan, I know they are waiting for him. Näin karhua ammuttavan, I see the bear is being shot at; but Epäilen karhua tappetuksi, I doubt if the bear has been killed. Uskon metsää hakattavan, I think the forest is being cut down; but Uskon metsän hakatuksi, I think the forest has been cut down.

These participal constructions are also employed when the verb introducing the subordinate sentence is in the passive form. Under such circumstances the subject of the subordinate sentence may either remain in the nominative or pass into the genitive.

Siinä makasiinissa kuulutaan saatavan oikeata kiinalaista teetä, this shop is said to receive real Chinese tea. Sanotaan varustettavan sotaretkeä, it is said that an expedition is being armed. Luultiin ihmisiä kuolleen, it was thought the men were dead.

The intransitive verbs näkyä, to be seen; näyttää, to appear; tuntua, to feel; kuulua, to be heard, also take the genitive of the participle.

Hän kuuluu eronneen miehestään ja lähteneen Pietariin, she is said to be divorced from her husband and to have left for St. Petersburg. Et näy tuntevan vanhaa ystävääsi, you don’t seem to know your old friend. Ei kuulu saadun kaloja, it is said no fish have been caught[16].

PREPOSITIONS, POSTPOSITIONS, AND ADVERBS.

As has been already explained in the Accidence the greater number of these words in Finnish are declinable substantives, and take the various cases under just the same rules as an ordinary noun. With the exception of a certain number of petrified and isolated forms, they may be compared to the word midst in English. We say he came from the midst, went into the midst, or stood in the midst. In the language of Finnish grammarians such forms would be considered as adverbs. Whereas in such expressions as in the midst, or from the midst of the crowd, they would be called postpositions or prepositions. This practice of declining adverbs and postpositions is, however, carried to lengths for which no analogy can be found in English. Thus myöhä, is late (an adjective), but to come late is rendered by tulla myöhään; on account of the idea of motion in the verb. To watch late into the night is valvoa myöhälle yötä, and such an expression as later on (of a date) is rendered by the essive myöhempänä.

Most, but not all, postpositions, are capable of taking the pronominal affixes, with or without a genitive of the personal pronoun before them.

The subjoined list of prepositions and postpositions gives all the words considered as falling under these categories by ordinary grammars. As a matter of fact, it might very well be either enlarged or curtailed, which last would be better, as some of the words are substantives in ordinary use. But I have thought it better to adhere to the conventional list.

I. Postpositions and Prepositions used in only one case.

(1) Ennen (instrumental of ensi). Preposition followed by partitive. Before. Ennen Kristuksen syntymää, before the birth of Christ. Ennen aikojansa, before one’s time; too soon. Ennen tuloani, before I came.

(2) Halki, across. Preposition followed by genitive. Halki metsän, through the wood. Lenti kokko halki taivon. (Kal. ii. 265).

(3) Ilman (instrumental of ilma), without, preposition with partitive. Ilman apua, without help. Ilman rahaa, without money. Ilman sitä, besides. Also used with the abessive. Ilman muiden avutta, without the help of others. Hän otti rahat vastaan ilman lukematta, he received the money without counting it. Ilman maan alistamatta, Ilman kasken kaatamatta (Kal. ii. 254).

(4) Kanssa, with. Postposition with the genitive. Pojan kanssa, with the boy. Isänsä kanssa, with his father. Kanssa takes the pronominal suffixes. Minun kanssani, sinun kansassi, hänen kanssansa, etc. Hän kulki kanssani koko matkan, he went all the way with me. Puhuiko hän kanssasi? did he speak to you?

(5) Kautta (partitive of kausi). Postposition after the genitive, through, or by the help of; like kanssa it takes the pronominal suffixes. Minun kauttani, by my help. Hän on tunnetu isänsä kautta, he is known on account of his father. Also used as a preposition in the sense of all over. Huhu leviää kautta kaiken kaupungin, the rumour spreading over the whole city. Kävelimme kylien kautta, we went through the villages.

(6) Paitsi, besides. Preposition with the partitive. Paitsi sinua ei ole minulla yhtään ystävää, I have no friend but you. Paitsi sitä, besides this. Paitsi veljensä apua olisi hän joutunut hukkaan, he would have been ruined without his brother’s help.

(7) Pitkin, along. Preposition with the partitive. Käydä pitkin tietä, to go along a road. Lapset juoksentelevat pitkin pihoja, the children run about in the courts.

(8) Poikki. Postposition or preposition with genitive, across: Kulkea joen poikki, to cross the river. Jänis juoksi poikki tien, the hare ran across the road.

(9) Puhki. Preposition or postposition, across. Luoti meni puhki lasin, the bullet came through the glass.

(10) Suhteen (illative of suhde), postposition with genitive, in relation to, compared with. Wähä tarpeen suhteen, small for one’s wants. Palkan suhteen oli tyytyväinen, he was satisfied with the remuneration.

(11) Takia,Tautta, Tähden, postposition with genitive, for the sake of, for, in consequence of.

Älä minun tähdeni vaivaa näe, do not trouble on my account. Kipeän jalkani tautta en voi astua, I can’t stand on account of my bad leg. Nälän tähden, from hunger. Kauppamies viipyi pari päivää asiansa takia, the merchant waited a couple of days for affairs.

(12) Varten. Preposition with partitive, for, for the use of. Isä osti vaatteita lapsiansa varten, the father bought clothes for his children. Kouluja varten, for the use of schools. Mitä varten sinä itket? why do you weep?

(13) Vuoksi, for the sake of, for (much the same as tähden). Postposition with the genitive. Rahan vuoksi, for money. Minä lueskelen huvin vuoksi, I read for pleasure.

II. Postpositions and Prepositions which are declined in several cases.

(1) The following words, usually considered as cases of a nominative ali which is not found, are used as postpositions with the genitive to express rest or motion under an object.

a. Alla, rest under. Pöydän alla, under the table. Paljaan taiwaan alla, under the open heaven. Also metaphorically, Hänellä on suuret maat allansa, large countries are under his dominion. Johdon alla, under the direction of. Oven suussa orren alla, Kal.

b. Alta, motion from under. Koira tuli pöydän alta, the dog came from under the table. Itse altansa, of oneself. Hän on mies itse altansa, he is a self-made man. Karhu nousi petäjän alta, the bear got up from under the fir tree.

c. Alle, motion to the place under an object. Koira juoksi pöydän alle, the dog ran under the table. Antaa asia toisten tuomion alle, to leave a thing to another person’s discretion. Kala ui sillan alle, the fish swam under the bridge.

d. Alitse or alatse, expressing motion across a space under an object. Lintu lensi auringon alatse, a bird flew under (or across) the sun. Yli kuun, alitse päivän, above the moon, but below the sun.

(2) From the nominative asen, place, come asemessa and asemesta, postpositions with genitive, in the place of, instead of. Miehen asemesta, leivän asemesta, instead of a man, bread, etc. Talon pojat suorittavat veronsa rahan asemesta viljassa, the peasants pay their taxes in corn instead of money.

(3) From esi, the space before an object, are formed the following postpositions which require the genitive before them.

a. Edessä, rest before. Hevonen on reen edessä, the horse is (harnessed) in front of the sledge. Älä seiso edessäni, do not stand before me. Pilvet ovat kuun edessä, there are clouds over the moon.

b. Edestä, motion from before. Siirtyä jonkun edestä, to move from before some one, to get out of the way. Edestä is also used somewhat loosely to express for, instead of, etc.; e.g. Kristus kuoli meidän synteimme edestä, Christ died for our sins. Tee se minun edestäni, do it instead of me, for me.

c. Eteen, the illative, expresses motion into the space before an object. Wiholliset seisahtuivat leirin eteen, the enemy marched up to the camp and halted. When used metaphorically, like edestä, it means for. Isä tekee työtä lastensa eteen, the father works for his children. Katsoa eteensä, to look before or take care.

d. Edellä expresses rest on a space before an object, and is nearly the same as edessä, the only difference being that between the inessive and adessive cases. He kävivät minun edelläni, they walked before me. Prepositionit käytetään partitivin edellä, prepositions are used before the partitive.

e. Edelle expresses motion into a place before anything. Hän ajoi hevosensa koko joukon edelle, he drove his horse on to a place before all the people. Kuningas asetti johtajat kansan edelle, the king appointed leaders for the people.

f. Similarly edeltä expresses motion from a place in front of anything. Mies läksi toisten edeltä, he went from before the others.

(3) Joukko, a crowd, number.

a. Joukossa, in the crowd or among. Postposition with the genitive. Elää ihmisten joukossa, to live among men. Älä istu pilkkaajain joukossa, be not among the scornful.

b. Joukkoon expresses motion into or with. Katosi kansan joukkoon, he was lost in this crowd.

(4) Jälki, footstep or trace, is used in several cases to mean behind, chiefly of motion.

a. Jälessä, behind. Mennä jonkun jälessä, to walk behind anyone. Paimen kulkee laumansa jälessä, the shepherd goes behind his flock. Tuli minun jälessäni, he walked behind me.

b. Jälestä, behind or after, with the idea of motion from. Jumalten jälestä ovat ihmiset, men come next to gods. Hän tuli minun jälestäni, he came later than I. Also used in exactly the same sense as jälessä. Sen jälestä on iso joki, behind it is a big river.

c. Jälkeen means simply after, the force of the illative case having been lost. Kristuksen syntymän jälkeen, after the birth of Christ. Minun luuloni jälkeen, according to my opinion. Kello kolmen jälkeen, after three o’clock. Minä kirjoitan sanainne jälkeen, I write from your dictation.

(5) Kera, meaning company or society, is used as a postposition with the genitive in the nominative, adessive, and allative, in the signification of with, or beside.

a. Kera:—Sen kera, therewith. Istuin isännän kera, I sat with the master of the house.

b. Keralla:—Minä menin hänen kerallansa, I went with him. Kenenkä keralla olette olleet? with whom were you?

c. Keralle:—Tule keralleni, come with me.

(6) Keski, the middle. From this are formed the following:—

a. Kesken.

i. Preposition with the partitive, or rarely with the genitive, in the midst of. Hän pysähtyi kesken puhettansa, he stopped in the middle of his speech. Poika itki kesken lauluansa, the boy wept in the midst of his song.

ii. More commonly as a postposition with the genitive. Heidän kesken syntyi riita, a controversy arose between them. Kahden keskan, tête-à-tête. Olkoon se sanottu kahden kesken, let this be between ourselves. Asia on sovittu miesten kesken, the matter has been arranged among the men.

b. Keskenä, literally, in the midst, is used with the pronominal suffixes in a reflexive sense which closely resembles the Latin inter se. He pitävät vihaa keskenänsä, they hate one another. Me sovimme keskenämme, we became reconciled. Pilatus ja Herodes tulivat ystäviksi keskenänsä, Pilate and Herod were reconciled.

c. Keskellä (dial. Kesellä). Preposition with the partitive, or postposition with the genitive, in the midst of. Keskellä kaupunkia or kaupungin keskellä, in the middle of the town. Keskellä virtaa, in the middle of the stream. Keskellä kesää, alvea, yötä, päivää, in the middle of summer, winter, the night, the day.

d. Keskeltä, from the midst. Preposition with the partitive, or, more usually, postposition with the genitive. Tulla keskeltä peltoa or pellon keskeltä, to come from the middle of the field. En nähnyt miestä keskeltä huonetta, I did not see the man from the middle of the room.

(7) Kohta, a place (or kohti) gives the following forms:—

a. Kohdalla, kohdalta, and kohdalle, denote rest in, or motion from and to a place in the vicinity of something else, and are postpositions with the genitive. Talo on kirkon kohdalla, the house is near the church. Ota pois tuolit ikkunan kohdalta, take the chairs away from the window. Katu on laaistu talon kohdalta.

b. Kohtaan, the illative postposition with the partitive, means for or in respect of. Hän on hyvä ystäviänsä kohtaan, he is good to his friends. Rakkaus Jumalaa kohtaan, love of God. Lapset ovat nöyrät isäänsä kohtaan, the children are humble before their father.

c. Kohti, or kohden, postpositions with the partitive. Tulla kaupunkia kohti or kohden, to come to the town. Hän kulki kotia kohti. Maksetaan viisi markkaa päivässä miestä kohden.

(8) Liki. The nominative, adessive, allative, and ablative are used to mean near.

a. Liki, preposition with partitive. Talo on liki kaupunkia, the house is near the town. Reppänä on liki lakea, the smoke hole is near the roof.

b. Likellä

c. Likelle

d. Likeltä

are used either as prepositions with the partitive, or as postpositions with the genitive. Minä asun kaupungin likellä, or better, likellä kaupunkia, I live near the town. And similarly the other two cases are used to express motion towards or from the neighbourhood of an object.

(9) Lähi, neighbourhood, is used in the adessive, allative, and ablative in exactly the same sense as liki, either as a preposition with the partitive, or as a postposition with the genitive. Kirkon lähellä or lähellä kirkkoa, near the church, etc. Rannan lähellä (or lähellä rantaa) kasvavat kaihlat. Minä ammuin linnun aivan läheltäni, I shot a bird quite near me.

(10) Luo, which is not found as a substantive in the nominative, is used in the essive, partitive, and translative as a postposition with the genitive.

a. The essive, luona, means with or at the house of (French chez). Lapset asuivat setänsä luona, the children lived with their uncle.

b. The translative, luoksi, is used to express motion to the house or presence of a person. Milloin tulette minun luokseni? when are you coming to see me? Keisari käski ruhtinaan tulla hänen luoksensa, the emperor ordered the prince to appear before him.

c. There is a form luo, no doubt shortened from luoksi and really a translative, which is used in the same sense as luoksi. Minä menen tuttujeni luo, I am going to see my acquaintances.

d. The partitive luota denotes motion from the house or presence of a person. Lähettiläs tuli keisarin luota, the ambassador came from the emperor. Milloin läksit hänen luotansa? when did you leave him?

(11) Läpi, lävitse (läpitse), mean across. Läpi means literally a hole.

a. Läpi is either a postposition with the genitive, or a preposition with the same case. Kuula meni ikkunan läpi, the bullet came through the window. Aurinko paistaa läpi ikkunan, the sun shines through the window. Katosi läpi käsien, it fell through his hands and was lost.

b. Läpitse or lävitse, the prolative, is used in much the same sense, expressing a motion along and through an object. Nuoli tunkesi seinän läpitse, the arrow passed through the wall. Ei puhalla tuuli turkin lävitse, the wind does not pierce through a fur.

(12) Muka, nearness or likeness.

a. Muassa, with. Postposition with genitive. Kulkea muiden muassa, to journey in company with others. Ei minulla ollut rahoja muassani, I had no money about me.

b. The essive mukana is also used in the same sense. Kuka on sinun mukanasi? who is with you?

c. Mukaan, postposition with the genitive, means with, or according to, agreeably to, after. Lähteä toisten mukaan, to go with the others. Tehkää käskyn mukaan, do as you are bid. Neuvon mukaan, according to the advice. Luonnon mukaan, naturally. Tapansa mukaan, according to his custom. Koetti hän kasvattaa itsensä Turgenjevin naistyyppien mukaan, she tried to form herself after Turgenieff’s female types.

(13) a. Myötä, postposition with genitive, meaning with. Onko rahoja miesten myötä? have the men money with them? Hän ei ottanut aseita myötänsä, he did not take the arms with him.

b. Myöten, postposition with partitive, meaning along or according to. Käydä tietä myöten, to follow a road. Tahtoasi myöten, as you wish. Virta paisui äyräitänsä myöten, the river flowed by its banks.

(14) Ohi, side, forms the following postpositions with the genitive.

a. Ohessa, at the side of. Istui tien ohessa, he sat by the wayside. Muun ohessa puhui, among other things he said.

b. Ohesta, from the side, rarely used. Nousi tien ohesta, he rose from the way side.

Similarly

c. ohella (or ohilla),

d. ohelta,

e. and oheen

in much the same sense, by the side of or with. Hän kulki minun ohellani, he came with me. Ääni kuului tien ohelta, a noise was heard from the road. Iso kivi on pellon ohella, there is a big stone by the field. Istautui tien oheen, he sat down by the wayside.

f. Ohitse or ohi expresses motion along or by the side of anything. Kulkea jonkun ohitse, to pass a person. Me ajoimme heidän ohitsensa (or ohi), we drove by them. Ammuin linnun ohitse, I missed (shot beside) the bird.

(15) Perä, the extreme or hinder part of anything, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Perässä, behind. Lapsi käy isän perässä, the child walks behind the father. Sairaswaunut kulkevat sotajoukon perässä, the ambulance goes behind the army.

b. Perästä, behind or after, generally implying that the second object depends on the first, which is thus a point of departure. Sen perästä, afterwards. Toinen toisensa perästä, one after another. Kolmen wuoden perästä, after three years.

c. Perään, after, implying motion. Mennä jonkun perään, to go to look for some one. Katsoa lapsen perään, to look after the children. Miksi ette lähettäneet minun perääni? why did you not send for me?

(16) The local cases of Puoli, a half or side, are used as postpositions with the genitive.

a. Puolessa, at or near. Turun puolessa, round Turku (Åbo). Pohjan, idän puolessa, in the North, in the East.

b. Puolesta, from the side of or for, on behalf of. Puhua itsensä puolesta, to speak for oneself. Se tapahtukoon minun puotestani, it can be done as far as I am concerned. Sen puolesta, että...., for this reason, that.... Hän nousi maansa puolesta, he rose up for his fatherland.

c. Puolella, on the side of. Tuuli on idän puolella, the wind is in the East. Olla kuninkaan puolella, to be on the king’s side. N.B. toisella puolella followed by partitive. Toisella puolella järveä, on the other side of the lake.

d. Puolelta, from the side of, from. Tuli syttyi tuulen puolelta, the fire burnt in the side when the wind blew.

e. Puolelle, to the side of, to. Mennä wihollisten puolelle, to go over to the enemy.

f. Puoleen, to the side of, to. Katsoa jonkun puoleen, to look towards a person. Kenenkä puoleen minun olisi käännyttävä? to whom shall I turn?

(17) Pää, the head or extremity, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Päässä

b. Päästä

c. Päähän

are used to express a distance or limit in space. Kuula menee kahden virstan päähän, the bullet carries two miles. Suomen raja on jonkun penikulman päässä Pietarista, the Finnish frontier is some miles from Petersburg. Minä tunsin tulijan viiden kymmenen sylen päästä, I recognised the new comer from several yards’ distance. Vihollinen on virstan päässä, the enemy is a mile off. Päästä is also used of time. Viikon päästä, after a week.

d. Päällä

e. Päältä

f. Päälle

express respectively rest on, motion from above or into the space above an object. Olla veden päällä, to float. Tuuli on meren päältä, the wind comes from the sea. Lentää katon päälle, to fly on to the roof. On sadekaapu palttoon päällä, there is a cape on the great coat.

(18) Rinta, breast or side, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Rinnalla

b. Rinnalle

expressing rest by, or motion to the side of. Poika istuu isänsä rinnalla, the boy sits by his father’s side. Laskea joku jonkun rinnalle, to put some one by some one else, i.e. to compare. Älä pyri hänen rinnallensa, strive not to be like him.

Jos arvossa mä oisin

Ja rikkahitten rinnalla.—Popular song.

(19) Seka, a mixture or collection, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. seassa

b. seasta

c. sekaan

Kiiltää kulta rikkojenkin seasta, gold glitters in what one throws away. Panna wettä wiinin sekaan, to mix water with wine. Ihmisten seassa, among men. Seassamme, between us.

(20) Sisä, the interior, is used as a postposition in all the local cases.

a. Sisässä

b. Sisästä

c. Sisään

d. Sisällä

e. Sisältä

f. Sisälle

Oletko ollut tämän huoneen sisässä, have you been in this room? Kärme tuli puun sisästä, the snake came out of the tree. Onko kirkon sisällä paljo väkeä, are there many people in the church?

(21) Taka, meaning the space behind anything, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Takaa (partitive), from behind or after. Hän tuli oven takaa, he came from behind the door. Iso honka näkyy koivujen takaa, there is a great fir behind the beeches. Wuoden takaa, after a year. It means also according to. Woimansa takaa, according to one’s power; with all one’s might.

b. Takana (essive), behind. Käydä jonkun takana, to go behind or follow any one. Seisoa seinän takana, to stand behind the wall. Rahat on takanani, the money is in my keeping. Olla turvan takana, to be under the protection of.

c. Translative—taaksi, taakse, taa, back, backwards, or across. Katsoa taaksensa, to look backwards. Lähteä meren taaksi (or taa), to go across the sea. Aurinko laskeutuu vuorten taa, the sun sets behind the mountains.

(22) Sisäpuoli, interior, is used in the adessive, ablative, and allative.

a. Sisäpuolella Suomalaiset kanssaheimot eivät asu kaikki suomen rajain sisäpuolella, all the Finnish tribes do not live within the Finnish frontier.

b. Kuuluiko ääni huoneen sisäpuolelta? was the voice heard within the room?

c. Paimen ajoi lampaat aitauksen sisäpuolelle, the shepherd drove the sheep into the sheepfold.

(23) Tykö, nearness, forms postpositions with the genitive which have exactly the same meaning as the corresponding cases of luo. Tyköä, from; työ, to (e.g. minä tulen miehen työ); tykönä, at or with. The form työ is due to the fact that a termination, probably that of the translative, has been lost. It is only used dialectically.

(24) Ulkopuoli (cf. sisäpuoli), the exterior, is used in the adessive, allative, and ablative as either a preposition with the partitive or a postposition with the genitive. Kaupungin ulkopuolella or ulkopuolella kaupunkia, outside the town. Similarly are employed the other cases to express motion to or from the outside of anything.

(25) Vasta, the place opposite anything.

a. Vastassa, postposition with the genitive, means opposite, facing. Hänen vastassansa, opposite him. Toistensa vastassa olevat kaupungit, the cities lie facing each other.

b. Vastaan, postposition with the genitive, has the same meaning with the idea of motion towards added, which however seems to disappear in many metaphorical uses. Mennä isän vastaan, to meet one’s father. Minä en ole sitä vastaan, I am not against that. Tehdä käskyä vastaan, to disobey a command. Sitä vastaan, on the other hand.

c. Vastoin (instructive plural) is a preposition with the partitive, meaning against or contrary to. Vastoin virtaa, tuulta, against the river, the wind. Vastoin tahtoani, against my wish. Älkää pakoittako tyttäriänne vastoin mieltä, do not compel your daughters against their will. Vastoin lakia, against the law.

d. Vasten[17] (instructive singular from a form vasti), preposition or postposition with the partitive, is used in much the same sense as vastoin, but means also (1) about, towards. E.g. älä lyö poikaa vasten silmiä, don’t hit the boy about the eyes. Hän sai vasten silmänsä, he got one in the eye; (2) as a postposition with the genitive it means for, on account of. Moni tekee työtä ainoastansa omaa hyötyänsä vasten, many work only for their own profit. But varten is better in this sense.

e. Vastapäätä is used in the meaning of opposite or vis-à-vis, as a preposition with the partitive. Kirkko on rakennettu vastapäätä raastupaa, the church is opposite the court-house.

(26) Väli, the midst, forms postpositions with the genitive. All the local cases are used: Välissä, välistä, väliin, välillä, välille, välitse. Kirkon ja pappilan välillä on maantie, there is a road between the church and the parsonage. Kansan välitse, through the midst of the people. Sano hänelle suoraan silmien väliin, tell him to his face.

(27) Yli, meaning the place above anything, is used in various forms as a preposition or a postposition with the genitive.

a. Yli (1) as a preposition with the genitive expresses existence above an object; e.g. Pilvet liitävät yli meren, yli maan, the clouds glide over land and sea. Yli päämme on kirkas taivas, the bright heaven is above us. We also find expressions like kello on yli viiden, it is after five o’clock. It also expresses metaphorically pre-eminence. Hän on kunnioitettava yli muiden, he is more honourable than the rest. It is used metaphorically in such expressions as yli wuoden, more than a year; maata yli aikansa, to sleep too long. Yli sen mitä ennen on maksettu, what has been paid in addition to previous payments.

(2) Yli is also used as a postposition with the genitive, and as such expresses motion over a thing, so that the object moving remains temporally above it. Matto on levitetty koko lattian yli, the carpet is spread over all the floor. Hän tuli wähän yli puoliwäliin matkaa, he came a little over half way. Hän katseli olan yli, he looked over his shoulders.

b. Ylitse (prolative) expresses motion over and across an object. Purjehtia meren ylitse, to sail across the sea. Kun pääsisi tämän raskaan ajan ylitse, when one has got over these hard times.

c. Yllä

d. Yltä

e. Ylle

literally expressing rest on, and motion from or to the space above an object, are used as postpositions with the genitive to express the wearing, putting on or taking off of clothes. Pojan yllä on uusi takki, the boy has a new coat on. Hänellä on waatteet yllänsä, he has clothes on. Riisua waatteet yltänsä, to take off one’s clothes. Panna, pukea yllensä; to put on clothes. Cf. oli loassa yltä päältä (adverb), to be dirty from head to foot.

(28) Ympäri, the space surrounding, gives the following forms.

a. Ympäri is used as a postposition with the genitive. Laiva purjehti maan ympäri, the ship sailed round the land. It is also used as a preposition with the genitive or partitive in much the same sense. Riittikö oma leipä ympäri vuoden? is your own corn enough for the year?

b. Ympärillä

c. Ympäriltä

d. Ympärille

are postpositions with the genitive expressing rest in, motion from or to the space round an object. Kuori on puun ympärillä, the tree has bark round it. Panna sontaa puun ympärille, to manure a tree. Metsät ovat kadonneet kaupungin ympäriltä, the forests have been cut down round the town. Miksi on kääre sormesi ympärillä? why have you a bandage on your finger? Ota huivi kaulan ymperiltä, take the handkerchief from round your neck.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES.

As has been explained, the negative in Finnish only exists in combination with the personal pronouns as a negative verb, and there is no word corresponding to no or not. This peculiarity naturally makes the structure of negative sentences different from that of other languages.

(1) The answer ‘no’ to a question must be rendered by the proper person of the negative verb, with or without the root of the verb negative. To the question Tuletteko? are you coming? the negative answer is en tule or en, if one person is referred to, but emme tule or emme, if more than one. Similarly, to tulevatko lapset? are the children coming? the negative reply must be eivät tule or eivät.

(2) If a sentence contains such words as never, no one, nothing, nowhere, etc., they are expressed by using the proper person of the negative verb, with the proper case of the interrogative pronoun or the interrogative adverb, which receive the termination kaan or kään, sometimes shortened into aan or ään. Emme ole nähneet ketäkään or ketään, we have seen no one. Missä olette käyneet? En missäkään, where have you been? Nowhere. Onko hän koska ollut Helsingissä? Ei koskaan (or Ei milloinkaan) has he ever been to Helsingfors? No, never.

(3) It is clear that as the negative is always joined to a personal pronoun, sentences where it qualifies an infinitive in most languages (for instance, it would be better not to go) cannot by any means be rendered literally in Finnish. Such sentences are turned quite differently, the chief device being to use the abessive of inf. III; for instance, I advise you not to go, minä kehoitan teitä, älkää menkö, or olemaan menemättä. Olisi parempi olla kirjoittamatta, it would be better not to write. The house is not sold, talo on myömättä (but ei ole myöty is also possible). The present is not given, lahja on antamatta (or ei ole annettu). You need not go, ei sinun pidä mennä (where ei negatives pidä not mennä), or sinun pitää olla menemättä. You will have to go away and not see your sister, teidän pitää matkustaa pois sisartanne näkemättä.

Sentences are occasionally found where ei apparently negatives an infinitive. E.g. S. John vii. 34, Teidän pitää minua etsimän ja ei löytämän, ye shall seek me and not find me. But this construction is really elliptical for ja ei pidä löytämän.

Nevertheless this use of the negative verb with an infinitive or participle is occasionally found, even in the Kalevala; e.g. xxviii. 262, Sie vanno valat ikuiset ... ei sotia käyäksesi, swear eternal oaths ... that thou willst not go to war. And immediately afterwards, Vannon mie valat vakaiset En kesänä ensimmäisnä ... Saa’a suurihin sotihin, I swear firm oaths that in the first summer ... I will not go to war. Here käyäksesi and saa’a (for käydäksesi and saada) are infinitives constructed with ei and en. In the first passage et would have seemed more natural. So again in xliii. 237, Sanoit et käyväsi sotoa, thou saidst thou wouldst not go to war. As these constructions do not seem capable of being explained by the principles of Finnish syntax, they are probably due to the influence of foreign languages.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES.

If an interrogative sentence does not contain an interrogative pronoun or adverb, its character is marked by adding the particle ko or kö to some word in the sentence. Thus one says menettekö kotiin? are you going home? But in such sentences as mihin menette? or kuka menee? it is unnecessary to use ko, as the sentence already contains a word which makes its interrogative character clear. It will be noticed that this use of ko is exactly similar to that of ли in Russian.

The termination ko, kö is added to the word on which the chief interrogative stress is laid.

Tiedättekö mihin hän on lähtenyt? do you know where he is gone? Isäkö sen sanoi? was it the father who said so? Meritsekö aiotte matkustaa? are you thinking of going by sea?

In a negative question the termination kö is always attached to the negative verb. Ettekö ole nähneet häntä? have you not seen him? Eikö jo lakkaa satamasta? hasn’t it stopped raining yet?

In a disjunctive question the particle ko, kö is attached to the first alternative which is connected with the second by the word vai. Poikako se on vai tyttö? is that a boy or a girl?

But if there are two verbs in the sentence ko or kö is added to each. Onko hän vielä kotona vai läksikö? is he still at home or has he started?

In such a sentence as, Are you coming or not? one can say either Tuletteko vai ette? or, tuletteko vai ettekö tule?

The manner of giving a negative reply has been described above. Though there are two words, ja and niin (instr. plural of se), which can be used for ‘yes,’ the usual way of giving an affirmative reply is, to repeat the word which in the question has ko attached to it. Tuliko pappi? has the priest come? Tuli, yes.

OTHER SENTENCES.

Causal, temporal and consecutative sentences offer no special peculiarities, being introduced by the conjunctions given in the accidence and having the verb in the indicative mood. The particle että is generally combined with the negative verb: etten, ettet, ettei, etc.

Concessive sentences, introduced by vaikka, vaikkapa, or jos kohta, have the verb in either the indicative or the conditional. Hän oli niin köyhä ettei ollut mitä syödä, he was so poor that he had nothing to eat. Vaikka näin häntä usein, kun olin Pietarissa (or Pietarissa olessani), emme kuitenkaan ole tutut, though I often saw him when I was at Petersburg, we were not well acquainted. Vaikka hän vannoisi en sittekään uskoisi, though he should swear I would not believe him.

The first member of a conditional sentence is introduced by jos, or, if negative, by jollen, ellen (jollet, jollei, etc., ellet, ellei, etc.). The second is often introduced by niin. In such sentences as if I go, he will come, where the realization of the condition is considered as certain, the indicative is used—Jos menen niin hän tulee. But where the realization is doubtful the conditional present is employed, and where it is no longer possible the conditional past. If I were to go, he would come, jos menisin, niin hän tulisi. If I had gone, he would have come, jos minä olisin mennyt, niin hän olisi tullut.

Final sentences are introduced by että or jotta, or in the negative form by etten, ettet, ettei, etc. The verb is in the conditional. As has been described above (pp. 192 and 198) final sentences can also be rendered by infinitives and participles. Ilmoittakaat minulle että minäkin tulisin ja kumartaisin häntä (S. Matt. ii. 8), tell me, that I may come and worship him. Hän kävelee ettei vilustuisi, he walks that he may not catch cold.

ORATIO OBLIQUA.

A sentence in oratio obliqua can be rendered by the participial constructions above described, or by a sentence beginning with että, that. In this latter case the sentence is constructed exactly as in English.

Hän sanoi ettei se ole varma, mutta että koettaisi tiedustaa tarkemmin, he said it was not certain, but that he would endeavour to obtain more accurate information. Minä kysyin häneltä oliko hän kuullut että ystäväni oli kuollut ja pyysin että hän kirjoittaisi, I asked him if he had heard that my friend was dead, and begged him to write.

The word muka is often used to denote that a statement rests not on the authority of the speaker but of some one else.

Hän ei tahtonut viipyä: oli muka kovin väsyksissä, he did not want to wait, saying he was very tired. Luulevat hänen veljensä tulevan: hän oli muka kirjoittanut jollekulle, people think his brother is coming: it is said he has written to some one. Hän eroitti palvelijansa se kun oli muka varas, he dismissed his servant because he was a thief (according to his master’s statement).

ON THE DIALECT OF THE KALEVALA.

There are two main dialects of Finnish, the Western, which has produced the modern literary language, and the Eastern, in which the Kalevala is written. There are also many others of which perhaps the most important is that called the Savolaks dialect, which is hardly a literary language, though in the ‘Lönrötin Albumi,’ p. 286, there is a story called ‘Keisarin tuttu’ written in it. It appears to be characterized by a great fondness for the sound of i, which is added to other vowels; e.g. tiällä for täällä, hiän for hän. On the other hand i is often apparently shortened to a semivowel, merely modifying the previous consonant; e.g. olj for oli. The letter d does not occur, but is represented by j or v, meijänni for meidänkin, käyvä for käydä. The dialect would seem to be generally characterized by a soft and rather thick utterance. Olen becomes oun and olette, outta. V is frequently doubled; e.g. hyvvee päivee, and o is often used for a; e.g. mokomoo for mokomaa. So also we have forms like soatanoo for saatanee, pankoo for pankaa. The root of verbs has the letter k added in the negative and imperative forms: en annak, annak.

On the Eastern frontier of Finland and in the adjoining parts of the Russian Government of Olonetz is spoken a dialect called Karelian, which in its present form is much corrupted by the influence of Russia. The Kalevala, however, which was mostly collected in this part of the world, is written in a pure Finnish dialect, which has come to be accepted as the ordinary language of poetical composition.

The chief peculiarities of the dialect of the Kalevala are as follows[18]:—

I. The letter d does not exist. T disappears altogether in the cases where in the ordinary dialect it is softened to d. For instance—saa’a (saada), pöyän (pöydän), tieän (tiedän), tahon (tahdon), kahen (kahden), yhen (yhden), puhas (puhdas), ouoille (oudoille), eellä, eessä (edellä, edessä), sio (sido).

II. Similarly the letter k is dropped altogether when in literary Finnish it either becomes j or remains unchanged.

(1) lk, rk in a closed syllable become simple l and r, not lj, rj: e.g. jälen for jäljen (jälki), kulen for kuljen.

(2) sk and tk, which are not subject to softening in ordinary Finnish, become s and t in closed syllables: kosen for kosken, kaselle for kaskelle, itettävä for itkettävä.

III. rt, lt are not assimilated in the infinitive of verbs of conj. 3: kuulta, surten for kuulla, surren.

IV. The pronominal affixes do not always prevent consonants being softened as in ordinary Finnish: ajansa for aikansa, iäni for ikäni.

V. Where long vowels and diphthongs are the result of contraction, the Kalevala employs dissyllabic forms. These contracted forms in ordinary Finnish may be divided into two classes.

(a) The long vowel is the result of the omission of h (representing an original s or other consonant) between the two component vowels. In such cases the Kalevala always employs the fuller and more primitive forms with h. So we have vierahan for the literary vieraan, kotihin for kotiin, käyähän for käydään (d omitted).

(b) But there are a number of cases where the long vowels aa and ää in ordinary literary Finnish are not the result of the omission of h. Under these circumstances the Kalevala has oa instead of aa and eä instead of ää. Thus the partitive singular of kala is formed by suffixing a—that is kala-a. In ordinary Finnish this gives kalaa (dissyllabic), but in the Kalevala we find kaloa. This form may be compared with the partitive plural, kaloja, where a becomes o in ordinary Finnish. It is to be noted however that the change to oa occurs in the Kalevala even when the vowel of the first syllable is a—oroa for oraa.

The instances of this change fall under three categories:

(1) Partitive cases of nouns and adjectives: aikoa for aikaa, ilmoa for ilmaa, luutoa for luutaa, päiveä for päivää, tereä for terää.

(2) The first infinitive of verbs: ajoa for ajaa, eleä for elää, lenteä for lentää, piteä for pitää.

(3) Contracted verbs of class 3: arvoan for arvaan, lupoan for lupaan, lepeämättä for lepäämättä.

VI. The plural (except the nom.) is sometimes formed with the suffix -loi, before the case suffix. This form is used chiefly in words ending in o, ö, u, y, i, and e; e.g. rekilöitä, ristilöitä, lukkoloita, mahtiloita.

VII. The style of the Kalevala is characterized by the frequent use of derivative forms from nouns ending in o, nen (or onen), yt (or ut), and kainen. These forms have a diminutive or endearing significance. They are mostly quite incapable of translation into English, but correspond to the Russian diminutives. E.g. from emä are formed emo, emonen, and emyt; from isä, iso, isonen, and isyt; from kaunis, kauno, kaunokainen or kaunukainen; from kesä, kesonen and kesyt; from meri, meronen and meryt; from neiti, neitinen, neito, neitonen, neiyt, and neityinen; from puu, puuhut; from päivä, päivönen and päivyt; from veli, velo, vello, veljyt, veijo, veito, veitonen, veikko, and veikkonen.

We also find a great quantity of derivative verbs ending in ella, skella, ahta, alta, etc., in which the exact force of the syllable added is often obscure.

VIII. In verbs the 3rd person sing. of the present is formed with the suffix vi, a weakening of the original pi used in monosyllables. E.g. tekevi, ajattelevi, sanovi, ajavi, kaatelevi. But in monosyllables pi is always used, uipi, saapi.

IX. Some verbal stems ending in a or ä reject this vowel before t, k, n, and are conjugated as if they belonged to the third class. Thus löytää forms the past participle löynnyt for löytänyt: tietää forms concessive tiennen and past part. tiennyt. So seista, seiskaamme, seissut from seiso.

X. In the formation of the passive many verbs ending in ta, tä reject this syllable and also the consonant n, if it precedes. Löytää makes the passive stem löyttä instead of löydettä: rakentaa, raketta for rakennetta: kuumentaa, kuumetta for kuumennetta.

XI. The conjugation of the reflexive verbs (as already mentioned) offers a mass of forms unknown to literary Finnish, which sometimes also occur in verbs which are not strictly reflexive.

The chief terminations found in these verbs are:—

Indicative present.

Sing.

1.

me or ime—luome, kaivaime .

2.

tet, itet, or te—pistätet .

3.

kse, ikse, or ksen—astuikse, istuikse, astuiksen, katseleikse .

Imperfect.

Sing.

1.

ime—annoime, siirrime, siirräime .

2.

ihet or ihit—astelihet, suorihet .

3.

ihe or iin—ajoihe, loihe, vetihe, pistihe, rikkoihe, heittiin .

The termination ime is also found in the 1st pers. sing. of the conditional and ihe in the 3rd sing. of the concessive and conditional. The 2nd sing. of the Imper. often ends in te or ite—veäite (vedä itsesi), laskeite, paneite. The inf. of such verbs generally ends in itä; e.g. vetäitä. Rarely are found such forms as kuolkosi, kaotkosi for kuollos, etc.

XII. The negative verb frequently follows instead of preceding the root which it negatives; e.g. oisi en paljo pitänyt, maha et lausua lapiksi.

XIII. The style of the Kalevala is characterized by a general absence of conjunctions and connecting particles, but on the other hand abounds in syllables used merely to give emphasis or quite pleonastically. Such are the suffixes pa, pä, han, hän, kana. The word on is used in the same way; e.g. juop’ on vanha Wäinämöinen. Tuop’ on Pohjolan emäntä sanan virkkoi. Enpä anna tyttöäni.

XIV. A number of other differences from the literary dialect occur, some of which may be classified as follows:—

(1) Contracted essives, where the ordinary language prefers the full form: lasna for lapsena; nuorra for nuorena; suurra for suurena.

(2) In pronouns ma, mä, or mie for minä; sa, sä, sie for sinä; milma, silma for minua, sinua; miusta for minusta; siulle for sinulle, ka or ken for kuka, mi for mikä.

(3) From the verb olla are found oo for ole; oisi for olisi; lie, liet for lienee, lienet; liekkö for lieneekö.

(4) The imperf. ends in ti where in ordinary Finnish it is softened to si: kynti, löyti, kaati, pyyti for kynsi, löysi, kaasi, pyysi.

XV. The syntax of the Kalevala is marked by extreme simplicity in its main features. This is natural in popular poetry, and, besides, the system of versification (short lines of eight syllables generally containing a complete sentence) and the tendency to parallelism and repetition, were all unfavourable to the growth of long and involved phrases. On the other hand, the sentences of the Kalevala are often difficult to understand on account of their irregularity. Not only are the boldest inversions and omissions permitted (e.g. Emo tuosta itkemähän for rupesi itkemähän), but words are frequently strung together in so loose a manner that, though the thought is plain, it is almost impossible to analyse the sentence grammatically. For instance, xl. 401, Anna luoja, suo Jumala, Anna onni ollaksemme, Hyvin ain’ eleäksemme, kunnialla kuollaksemme. This clearly means, grant that we may be prosperous, live well and die gloriously, but it is almost impossible to explain it grammatically. Such a tendency to be more careful of the general sense than of the separate words and their correct relation to one another, is very natural in a poem whose authors were ignorant of grammar and had probably no written literature before them. It is accompanied in the Kalevala by a habit of repeating the same idea under numerous synonyms for the sake of emphasis and of creating new words for the sake of parallelism or alliteration, which have sometimes a meaning and bear testimony to the flexibility and fecundity of the language, but sometimes are absolutely unmeaning. Thus in Kal. xi. 55 we have Enkä lähe Inkerelle, Penkerelle, pänkerelle. Here pänkerelle means nothing at all, but is simply a kind of repetition of penkerelle. Similarly Kal. xlviii. 100, Ihveniä, ahvenia, Tuimenia, taimenia. Ihveniä and Tuimenia are meaningless words.

SELECTIONS FROM FINNISH LITERATURE

N.B. When a rule is cited by a number, this refers to the numbered phonetic rules from page 6 to page 18.

PYHÄN JOHANNEKSEN EVANGELIUMI.

1. Alussa[1] oli[2] Sana[3] ja[4] se[5] Sana[3] oli[2] Jumalan[6] tykönä[7] ja[4] Jumala[6] oli[2] se[5] Sana[3].

2. Tämä[8] oli[2] alussa[1] Jumalan[6] tykönä[7].

3. Kaikki[9] ovat[10] sen[11] kautta[12] tehdyt[13] ja[4] ilman[14] sitä[15] ei[16] ole[16] mitään[17] tehty[16] joka[18] tehty[13] on[19].

4. Hänessä[20] oli[2] elämä[21] ja[4] elämä[21] oli[2] ihmisten[22] valkeus[23].

5. Ja[4] se[5] valkeus[23] pimeydessä[24] paistaa[25] jota[26] ei[27] pimeys[24] käsittänyt[27].

6. Yksi[28] mies[29] oli[30] lähetetty[30] Jumalalta[31] jonka[32] nimi[33] oli[2] Johannes[34].

7. Se[35] tuli[36] siitä[37] valkeudesta[38] todistamaan[39] että[40] kaikki[9] uskoisivat[41] hänen[42] kauttansa[43].

8. Ei[44] hän[45] ollut[44] se[5] valkeus[23] mutta[46] hän[45] oli[30] lähetetty[30] valkeudesta[38] todistamaan[39].

9. Se[35] oli[2] totinen[47] valkeus[23] joka[18] valistaa[48] kaikki[9] ihmiset[49] jotka[50] maailmaan[51] tulevat[52].

10. Se[35] oli[2] maailmassa[53] ja[4] maailma[54] on[19] hänen[42] kauttansa[43] tehty[13] jä[4] ei[55] maailma[54] häntä[56] tuntenut[55].

11. Hän[45] tuli[36] omillensa[57] ja[4] ei[58] hänen[42] omansa[60] häntä[56] ottaneet[58] vastaan[59].

12. Mutta[46] niille[61] jotka[50] hänen[42] ottivat[62] vastaan[59], antoi[63] hän[45] voiman[64] Jumalan[6] lapsiksi[65] tulla[66] jotka[50] uskovat[67] hänen[42] nimensä[68] päälle[69];

13. Jotka[50] ei[70] verestä[71] eikä[70] lihan[72] tahdosta[73] ei[70] myös[74] miehen[75] tahdosta[73] mutta[46] Jumalalta[76] syntyneet[77] ovat[77].

14. Ja[4] sana[3] tuli[78] lihaksi[79] ja[4] asui[80] meidän[81] seassamme[82] (ja[4] me[83] näimme[84] hänen[42] kunniansa[85] niinkuin[86] ainoan[87] Pojan[88] kunnian[89] Isästä[90]) täynnä[91] armoa[92] ja[4] totuutta[93].

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN, I. 1-14.

1. In-the-beginning was the-Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. That was in-the-beginning with God.

3. All were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made which was made.

4. In-Him was life, and the-life was the-light of-men.

5. And that light shineth in-the-darkness, which the-darkness comprehended not.

6. A man was sent from-God whose name was John.

7. He came to-bear-witness of-that light, that all might-believe through Him.

8. He was not that light, but He was sent to-bear-witness of-the-light.

9. That was the-true light which lighteth all men who come into-the-world.

10. He was in-the-world, and the-world was made by Him, and the-world knew Him not.

11. He came to-His-own, and His own received Him not.

12. But to-them who received Him, He gave power to-become the-children of-God, who believe on His name,

13. Who were not born of-blood, not of-the-will of-the-flesh, also not of-the-will of-men, but of God.

14. And the-word became flesh, and dwelt in-our-midst (and we saw his glory, as the-glory of-the-only Son of-the Father) full of-grace and of-truth.

[1] Inessive sing. of alku, formed with suffix u (p. 45); verb alkaa, to begin; alkussa becomes alussa by rule 27.

[2] 3rd pers. sing. imperf. of olla, to be (p. 72).

[3] Nom. sing. identical with stem; cf. verb sanoa, to speak.

[4] Conjunction borrowed from the Swedish, and.

[5] Nominative of demonstr. pron. (p. 59) used almost like article (p. 166).

[6] Jumala, gen. Jumalan, God.

[7] Essive sing. of tykö; postposition governing Jumalan (p. 215).

[8] Nominative sing. of demonstr. pron. (p. 58).

[9] Nominative plur. without term. (pp. 61 and 170).

[10] 3rd pers. plur. pres. of olla (p. 72).

[11] Gen. sing. of demonstr. se (p. 59).

[12] Kautta, postposition governing gen. sen (p. 204).

[13] tehty, past part. pass. of root teke (rule 41); nominative plur. tehdyt (rule 32). Here the participle is used in combination with ovat to form perf. passive (p. 74).

[14] Preposition governing the partitive sitä (p. 203).

[15] Partitive sing. of demonstr. pron. se.

[16] ei ole tehty, negative perf. passive of root teke (p. 74).

[17] Partitive sing. of mikä with suffix an (pp. 61 and 219). For explanation of use of partitive here v. p. 183.

[18] Nom. sing, of rel. pron.

[19] 3rd pers. sing. pres. of olla.

[20] Iness. sing. of personal pron. hän.

[21] Nom. sing. formed from root elä with suffix mä (p. 45).

[22] Gen. plur. of ihminen declined like toinen (p. 35).

[23] Stem valkeute (nominative -us, p. 36) formed by adding affix ute to root valke (cf. valkea, white or fire, and valjeta).

[24] Stem pimeyte, nominative pimeys; substantive formed from pimeä, dark, analogous to valkeus, but with soft termination; pimeydessä is inessive sing.

[25] 3rd pers. sing. pres. of root paista.

[26] Jota, part. sing. of relative pron. object of negative verb (p. 127).

[27] 3rd sing. negative imperf. (p. 70) of verbal root käsitä, to grasp or understand (exact equivalent of comprehendere).

[28] Yksi, one, here used as the indefinite article, p. 51.

[29] Nominative sing. of stem miehe, man.

[30] Plupf. passive of lähettää, to send; pres. passive lähetetään, past part. -etty (p. 67).

[31] Ablative sing. of Jumala, God.

[32] Genitive sing. of relative pron. joka.

[33] Nominative sing. of stem nime.

[34] Nominative sing. of stem Johannekse (p. 36).

[35] Dem. pron. used as pers. pron. (p. 166).

[36] 3rd sing. imperf. of root tule, p. 95.

[37] Elative sing. of pron. se.

[38] Elative sing. of nominative valkeus, for use of case, v. p. 144.

[39] Illative of 3rd infin. of verbal stem todista, 1st infin. todistaa, for constr. v. p. 194.

[40] Particle used here with conditional, v. for constr. p. 179.

[41] 3rd pers. plur. conditional of uskoa, to believe.

[42] hänen, gen. sing. of 3rd pers. pron. depending upon

[43] the postposition kautta with the affix of the 3rd person. Notice that throughout this extract (vv. 10, 12, 14) the genitive of the pers. pron. is used as well as the suffix, v. p. 164.

[44] 3rd sing. impf. negative of olla.

[45] Nominative sing. 3rd pers. pron.

[46] conjunction but.

[47] Nom. sing. of stem totise (p. 35) formed with adjectival ending ise from stem tote, nom. tosi.

[48] 3rd sing. pres. of root valista (1st inf. -taa), to light.

[49] Acc. plur. of stem ihmise, nom. sing. ihminen, man.

[50] Nom. plur. of rel. pron. joka.

[51] maailmaan, illative sing. of maailma, universe (maa, ilma), denoting motion into after tulevat.

[52] 3rd plur. pres. of root tule (1st inf. tulla) to come (p. 95).

[53] Inessive sing.

[54] Nom. sing.

[55] 3rd pers. sing. imperf. negative of tuntea.

[56] Partitive sing. of 3rd pers. pron. after negative verb (p. 127).

[57] Allative plur. of oma, own, with the suffix of the 3rd pers. om-i-lle-nsa.

[58] Negative imperf. of ottaa, to take.

[59] Illative sing. of vasta, meaning literally, what is opposite. The combination ottaa vastaan, is used to mean receive.

[60] Nom. plur. of oma with suff. of 3rd pers. pron. (p. 57). As omansa is subject to the verb, the latter should strictly be eivät ottaneet, but v. page 123.

[61] Allative plur. of demons. pron. se, nom. plur. ne.

[62] 3rd pers. plur. imperf. of ottaa, to take.

[63] 3rd pers. sing. imperf. of antaa, to give, pres. annan. For difference of form in otti, antoi v. page 85.

[64] Acc. sing. of voima, power, formed with suffix ma from root voi (1st inf. voida), to be able.

[65] Transl. plur. of lapse, a child, v. p. 158.

[66] 1st inf. from root tule, to come, here used as auxiliary meaning to become or enter on a state, and taking the translative case.

[67] 3rd pers. plur. pres. of uskoa, to believe.

[68] Genitive sing. of nimi (stem nime) with pronom. affix of 3rd pers.

[69] Allative sing. of pää, a head, governing the genitive nimensä. The local cases of pää are used in a variety of metaphorical expressions.

[70] Eikä is the negative verb with the adverbial suffix kä, and; as in verse 11, the singular of the negative verb is used for the plur.; syntyneet must be understood with the negative.

[71] Elative sing. of veri (stem vere), blood, for use v. p. 143.

[72] Genitive sing. of liha, flesh, depending on tahdosta.

[73] Elative sing. of tahto, will, used as a nominal and verbal stem (tahtoa, to wish).

[74] Particle, also, connected with myötä and myöten.

[75] Genitive sing. of mies (stem miehe), man, depending on tahdosta.

[76] Elative sing. of Jumala, God.

[77] 3rd pers. plur. of the perf. of syntyä, to be born, composed of auxiliary and nom. plur. of partitive syntynyt, v. p. 73.

[78] For form v. No. 36. Here used as auxiliary became and followed by translative, v. Nos. 65 and 66 above.

[79] Translat. sing. of liha, flesh.

[80] 3rd pers. sing. imperf. of asua, to dwell.

[81] Genitive plur. of 1st pers. pron. depending on postposition seassamme.

[82] Postposition in inessive following genitive and taking possessive affix of 1st pers. plur., v. p. 214.

[83] Nom. plur. of 1st pers. pron.

[84] 1st pers. plur. imperf. of root näke (inf. nähdä, v. p. 108), näke-i-mme becomes näimme by rules 14 and 28.

[85] Acc. sing. of kunnia, glory, with the pron. affix of 3rd pers.

[86] So as, compound adverb formed of niin, instr. plur. of se and kuin, instr. plur. of root ku (nom. kuka).

[87] Genitive sing. of ainoa, only, agreeing with Pojan.

[88] Genitive sing. of Poika, son, for form v. rule 28.

[89] Accus. sing. of kunnia, glory, governing the genitive ainoan Pojan.

[90] Elative sing. of Isä, Father. The elative is no doubt used to prevent the confusion arising from too many genitives and accusatives coming together.

[91] Essive sing. of stem täyte, in apposition to sana (v. p. 157. iii). Modern Finnish makes täytenä, but here the e is dropped and täytnä becomes täynnä, cf. ynnä for yhtenä from yksi. In nom. täyte forms täysi by rule 37.

[92] Part. sing, of stem armo, grace or mercy; for use of part. after täynnä v. p. 136.

[93] Part. sing. of stem totuute (p. 36), which rejects e before ta of part.; for formation from root tote, v. p. 47. iii.

KALEVALA, XXXVI. 319-346.

Kullervo Kalervon poika

Tempasi[1] terävän[2] miekan[3], 320

Katselevi kääntelevi,

Kyselevi tietelevi[4];

Kysyi[5] mieltä[6] miekaltansa[3]

Tokko[7] tuon[8] tekisi[9] mieli[6]

Syöä[10] syyllistä[11] lihoa,[12] 325

Viallista[13] verta[14] juoa[15].

Miekka[3] mietti[16] miehen[17] mielen[6].

Arvasi[18] uron[19] pakinan[20],

Vastasi[21] sanalla[22] tuolla[8]:

‘Miks[23] en[24] söisi[24] mielelläni[25], 330

Söisi[24] syyllistä[11] lihoa[12],

Viallista[13] verta[14] joisi[26]?

Syön[10] lihoa[12] syyttömänki,[27]

Juon[15] verta[14] viattomanki[28].’

Kullervo Kalervon poika, 335

Sinisukka[29] äijön[30] lapsi[31]

Pään[32] on[33] peltohon[34] sysäsi[35],

Perä[36] painoi[37] kankahasen[38],

Kären[39] käänti[40] rintahansa[41],

Itse[42] iskihe[43] kärelle[44], 340

Siihen[45] surmansa[46] sukesi[47]

Kuolemansa[48] kohtaeli[49].

Se oli surma[45] nuoren[50] miehen[17],

Kuolo[51] kullervo-urohon[52],

Loppu[53] ainakin[54] urosta[55] 345

Kuolema[56] kova-osaista[57].

[Kullervo, the hero of Kalevala xxxi-xxxvi, is represented as a child of misfortune, who by no possible means could do good. After a series of crimes and disasters, rivalling the history of Oedipus, he determines to kill himself.]

Kullervo the son of Kalervo

Grasped the sharp sword, 320

Looked (at it), turned (it),

Asked, inquired:

Asked of his sword its mind,

If it were minded,

To eat guilty flesh, 325

To drink sinful blood.

The sword understood the mind of the man,

Followed the speech of the hero,

Answered with this word:

‘Why should I not eat to my pleasure, 330

Eat guilty flesh,

Drink sinful blood?

I eat the flesh of the guiltless,

I drink the blood of the sinless.’

Kullervo the son of Kalervo, 335

The old man’s child with blue stockings,

Drove the hilt into the ground,

Fixed the end in the plain,

Turned the point to his breast

Himself fell on the point. 340

Thus he sought his fate,

Met his death.

This was the fate of the young man,

The death of the hero Kullervo,

The end of the hero, 345

The death of the ill-fated one.

[1] 3rd sing. imperf. of stem tempata, 1st inf. temmata, conjugated like lupata, pp. 95 and 101.

[2] Acc. sing. of adj. terävä, sharp, formed from terä, edge, with affix va.

[3] Acc. sing. of miekka, sword; kk becomes k in closed syllable (rule 25); in l. 323, occurs the ablative sing. with affix of 3rd pers. pron.

[4] These four verbs are all formed with the affix ele (v. p. 111) from the simple forms katsoa, kääntää, kysyä, tietää. The vi is the termination of the 3rd. pers. sing. pres. (p. 62).

[5] 3rd sing. imperf. of kysyä, followed by ablative, to ask of (p. 154).

[6] Part. sing. of miele, nom. mieli, genitive mielen, etc.; e lost before tä by rule 17.

[7] Particle, whether.

[8] Acc. of demonstr. pron. tuo.

[9] 3rd pers. sing. conditional of root teke, inf. tehdä, of 3rd conjugation. The phrase mieli tekee followed by an accusative (here tuon) means his mind drives him to, or he has a mind to. Cf. the first lines of the Kalevala Mieleni minun tekevi ... lähteäni laulamahan, my mind incites me to begin singing.

[10] = syödä (p. 224) 1st inf. of root syö (pres indic. syön), depending on phrase mieli tekisi (p. 188).

[11] Part. sing. (object of syöä) of syyllinen, guilty, formed from syy, cause or guilt, with affix llise (p. 47).

[12] = lihaa (p. 225), part. sing. of liha, flesh.

[13] Part. sing. of viallinen, formed from vika, fault, like syyllinen, k lost by rule 28.

[14] Part. sing. of vere (nom. veri); cf. mieltä for form.

[15] = juoda (p. 224), 1st inf. of juo, pres. juon.

[16] 3rd sing. imperf. of miettiä (2nd conj.) to think over, here meaning understand.

[17] Genitive sing. of stem miehe (nom. mies).

[18] 3rd sing. imperf. of arvata; pres. indic. arvaan, to think, understand, conjugated like root lupata, p. 101.

[19] Genitive sing. of uro, hero, which is more usual in the form uros (stem uroho, uroo).

[20] Accusative sing. (object of arvasi) of pakina, speech.

[21] Vastasi, 3rd sing. imperf. of vastata, conjugated like root lupata.

[22] Adessive sing. of sana, word, used here in instrum. signification (p. 152).

[23] Transl. sing. of mikä, used adverbially to mean why (p. 159).

[24] Negative conditional of syö, composed of 1st pers. sing. of neg. verb, and stem of conditional (p. 70). By rule 4 syö + isi becomes söisi.

[25] Adessive sing. of mieli (v. No. 6) with affix of 1st pers. sing. with my mind, i.e. with pleasure.

[26] Juo + isi becomes joisi (v. No. 15).

[27] ki is an adverbial affix (p. 118) meaning even; syyttömän is the genitive sing. of syytön, guiltless (stem syyttömä), a caritive adjective formed from syy, with suffix ttoma, just as syyllinen is formed with suffix llise (v. pp. 47 and 37).

[28] Genitive sing. of caritive adjective viaton, formed from vika.

[29] Blue-stockinged, a compd. of sini, blue, and sukka, stocking.

[30] Gen. sing. of äijö (= äijä), an old man.

[31] Nom. sing. of stem lapse, child.

[32] Accusative sing. of pää, head, here the hilt of a sword.

[33] Particle of emphasis frequently used in Kalevala, and not the verb substantive.

[34] = peltoon (p. 225), illative sing. of pelto, field or ground.

[35] 3rd pers. sing. of sysätä, to drive, conj. like luvata.

[36] Accusative sing. of perä, end.

[37] 3rd pers. sing. impf. of painaa, to force down or into.

[38] = kankaasen (p. 225), illative sing. of stem kankaha, nom. kangas (p. 38 and rule 26), a bare plain.

[39] Accusative sing. of stem kärke, nom. kärki, here the point of the sword.

[40] 3rd sing. impf. of kääntää, to turn, v. p. 16.

[41] = rintaansa, illative sing. of rinta, breast, with suffix of 3rd pers. pron.

[42] Nominative sing. of pronoun.

[43] 3rd pers. sing. reflex. impf. of iskeä, to strike. For form v. pp. 109 and 227.

[44] All. sing. of kärki (v. No. 38).

[45] Illative sing. of pron. se, but here the force of the illative is lost; literally to this, up till now.

[46] Acc. sing. of surma, fate, with pron. aff. of 3rd pers.

[47] 3rd sing. imperf. of root suketa, 1st infin. sueta, to make, or prepare, conjugated like luvata.

[48] Accusative sing. of kuolema, death (pp. 45 and 190).

[49] 3rd sing. imperf. of kohtaella, to meet (one’s fate); cf. kohtalo, fate.

[50] Genitive sing. of nuori (stem nuore), young.

[51] Nominative sing. = kuolema, but formed with suffix o (p. 45).

[52] Compound of proper name Kullervo and uros, hero (stem uroho).

[53] Nominative sing. end, genitive lopun; cf. loppua, to end, intrans., lopettaa trans.

[54] Adv. aina, always, with suffix kin. Lönnrot explains this word as åtminstone, visst; it seems here almost pleonastic, and cannot be rendered for ever.

[55] Partitive sing. of uros (stem uroho), hero, used here as the genitive.

[56]Transcriber’s Note: note 56 was omitted.

[57] Partitive sing. of compound adj. formed from kova hard and osainen (stem -se) fated; adjective of osa, share.

KALEVALA, XVI. 151 ff.

Läksi[1] Tuonelta[2] sanoja[3],

Manalalta[4], mahtiloita[5];

Astua taputtelevi[6],

Kävi[7] viikon[8] vitsikkoa[9],

Viikon[8] toisen[10] tuomikkoa[9], 155

Kolmannen[11] katajikkoa[9],

Jo[12] näkyi[13] Manalan[4] saari[14],

Tuonen[2] kumpu[15] kuumottavi[16].

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Jo[12] huhuta[19] huikahutti[20] 160

Tuossa Tuonelan[21] joessa[22],

Manalan[4] alantehessa[23]:

‘Tuo[24] venettä[25] Tuonen[2] tytti[26],

Lauttoa[27] Manalan[4] lapsi[28]

Yli[29] salmen[30] saa’akseni[31], 165

Joen[22] poikki[32] päästäkseni[33]!’

Lyhykäinen[34] Tuonen[2] tytti[26],

Matala[35] Manalan[4] neiti[36]

Tuo oli peukkujen[37] pesiä[38],

Räpähien[39] räimyttäjä[40] 170

Tuonen[2] mustassa[41] joessa[22],

Manalan[4] alusve’essä[42];

Sanan[3] virkki[43], noin[44] nimesi[45],

Itse lausui[46] ja pakisi[47]:

‘Vene[25] täältä[48] tuotanehe[49], 175

Kuni[50] syy[51] sanottanehe[52],

Mi[53] sinun Manalle[2] saattoi[54]

Ilman[55] tau’in[56] tappamatta[57],

Ottamatta[58] oivan[59] surman[60],

Muun[61] surman[60] musertamatta[62].’ 180

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Sanan[3] virkkoi[43] noin[44] nimesi[45]:

‘Tuoni[2] minun tänne[63] tuotti[64],

Mana[2] mailtani[65] veteli[66].’

Lyhykäinen Tuonen tytti, {v. 167, 168

Matala Manalan neiti {

Tuonpa[67] hän sanoiksi[68] virkki[43]:

‘Jopa[12] keksin[69] kielastajan[70]!

Kunp’[71] on[72] Tuoni[2] tänne[65] toisi[73],

Mana mailta[65] siirteleisi[74], 190

Tuoni toisi[73] tullessansa[75],

Manalainen[76], matkassansa[77],

Tuonen hattu[78] hartioilla[79],

Manan kintahat[80] käessä[81];

Sano[82] totta[83] Väinämöinen, 195

Mi[52] sinun Manalle saattoi[54]?’

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Jo[12] tuossa[84] sanoiksi[68] virkki[43]:

‘Rauta[85] mun[86] Manalle[2] saattoi[54],

Teräs[87] tempoi[88] Tuonelahan[21].’ 200

Lyhykäinen Tuonen tytti, {

Matala Manalan neiti {v. 167, 168, 173.

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: {

‘Tuosta[89] tunnen[90] kielastajan[70]!

Kun[71] rauta[85] Manalle[2] saisi[91], 205

Teräs[87] toisi[73] Tuonelahan[21],

Verin[92] vaattehet[93] valuisi[94],

Hurmehin[95] hurahteleisi[96];

Sano totta Väinämöinen, v. 195.

Sano totta toinen[10] kerta[97]!’ 210

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Itse virkki[43], noin[44] nimesi[45]:

‘Vesi[98] sai[91] minun Manalle[2],

Aalto[99] toi[73] on[72] Tuonelahan[21].’

Lyhykäinen Tuonen tytti, {

Matala Manalan neiti {v. 167, 168, 173.

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: {

‘Ymmärrän[100] valehtelian[101]!

Jos[102] vesi[92] Manalle[2] saisi[91],

Aalto[99] toisi[73] Tuonelahan[21], 220

Vesin[102] vaattehet[93] valuisi[94],

Helmasi[103] herahteleisi[104];

Sano[82] tarkkoja[105] tosia[106],

Mi[53] sinun Manalle[2] saattoi[54]?’

Tuossa[84] vanha[17] Väinämöinen 235

Vielä[107] kerran[108] kielastavi[109]:

‘Tuli[110] toi[73] mun[86] Tuonelahan[21],

Valkea[111] Manalle[2] saattoi[54].’

Lyhykäinen Tuonen tytti, {

Matala Manalan neiti {v. 167, 168, 183.

Hänpä tuon sanoiksi virkki: {

‘Arvoan[112] valehtelian[101]!

Jos[102] tuli[110] Manalle[2] toisi[73],

Valkeainen[113] Tuonelahan[21],

Oisi[114] kutrit[115] kärventynnä[116], 235

Partaki[117] pahoin[118] palanut[119].’

‘Oi[120] sie[121] vanha[17] Väinämöinen,

Jos[102] tahot[122] venettä[25] täältä[48],

Sano[82] tarkkoja[105] tosia[106],

Valehia[123] viimeisiä[124], 240

Mitenkä[125] tulit[126] Manalle[2]

Ilman tau’in tappamatta, {

Ottamatta oivan surman, {v. 178-183.

Muun surman murentamatta[127].’ {

Sanoi[82] vanha[18] Väinämöinen: 245

‘Jos[102] vähän[128] valehtelinki[129],

Kerran[108] toisen[10] kielastelin[109],

Toki[130] ma[131] sanon[82] toetki[132]:

Tein[133] tieolla[134] venettä[25],

Laain[135] purtta[136] laulamalla[137], 210

Lauloin[138] päivän[139], lauloin toisen[10],

Niin[140] päivällä[139] kolmannella[141]

Rikkoihe[142] reki[143] runoilta[144],

Jalas[145] taittui[146] lausehilta[147];

Läksin[1] Tuonelta[2] oroa[148], 255

Manalalta[4] vääntiätä[149]

Rekosen[150] rakentoani[151],

Laulukorjan[152] laatiani[153];

Tuopa[24] nyt[154] venoista[155] tänne[60],

Laita[156] mulle[157] lauttoasi[27] 260

Yli salmen saa’akseni, {v. 165, 166.

Joen poikki päästäkseni!’ {

Kyllä[158] Tuonetar[159] toruvi[160],

Manan[2] neiti[36] riitelevi[161]:

‘Oi [120] on[72] hullu[162] hulluuttasi[163], 265

Mies[164] on[72] mielesi[165] vähyyttä[166]!

Tulet[126] syyttä[167] Tuonelahan[21],

Tauitta[56] Manan[2] majoille[168];

Parempi[169] sinun olisi[170]

Palata[171] omille[172] maille[173]; 270

Äijä[174] on tänne[63] tullehia[175],

Ei paljo[176] palannehia[177].’

Sanoi vanha Väinämöinen:

‘Akka[178] tieltä[179] kääntyköhön[180],

Eip’ on[72] mies[164] pahempikana[181], 275

Uros[182] untelompikana[183];

Tuo[24] venettä[25] Tuonen[2] tytti[26],

Lauttoa[27] Manalan[2] lapsi[28]!’

Vei[184] venehen[25] Tuonen[2] tytti[26],

Sillä[184] vanhan[18] Väinämöisen 280

Yli[23] salmen[30] saattelevi[185],

Joen[82] poikki[32] päästelevi[185],

Itse tuon[67] sanoiksi[68] virkki[43]:

‘Voi[180] sinua Väinämöinen,

Läksit[162] surmatta[60] Manalle[2], 285

Kuolematta[186] Tuonelahan[21]!’

Tuonetar[159] hyvä[187] emäntä[188],

Manalatar vaimo[189] vanha[18]

Toip’[73] on[72] tuopilla[189] olutta[190],

Kantoi[191] kaksikorvaisella[192], 290

Itse tuon sanoiksi virkki: v. 283.

‘Juop’[193] on[72] vanha[18] Väinämöinen!’

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Katsoi[194] pitkin[195] tuoppiansa[189],

Sammakot[196] kuti[197] sisällä[198], 295

Maot[199] laioilla[200] lateli[201];

Siitä[185] tuon[67] sanoiksi[68] virkki[43]:

‘En mä[131] tänne[65] tullutkana[175]

Juomahan[193] Manalan[4] maljat[202],

Tuonen[2] tuopit[180] lakkimahan[203]! 300

Juopuvat[204] oluen[190] juojat[205],

Kannun[206] appajat[207] katoovat[208].’

Sanoi[182] Tuonelan[28] emäntä[188]:

‘Oi[120] on[72] vanha[18] Väinämöinen,

Mitä[209] sie[121] tulit[126] Manalle, 305

Kuta[210] Tuonelan[21] tuville[211]

Ennen[212] Tuonen[2] tahtomatta[213],

Manan[2] mailta[214] kutsumatta[215]?’

Sanoi[128] vanha[18] Väinämöinen:

‘Veistäessäni[216] venoista[155], 310

Uutta[217] purtta[136] puuhatessa[218]

Uuvuin[219] kolmea[220] sanoa[3]

Peripäätä[221] päätellessä[222],

Kokkoa[223] kohottaessa[224];

Kun[50] en[225] noita[226] saanutkana[225], 315

Mailta[214] ilmoilta[227] tavannut[228],

Piti[229] tulla[126] Tuonelahan[21],

Lähteä[1] Manan[2] majoille[168]

Saamahan[230] sanoja[3] noita[226],

Ongelmoita[231] oppimahan[232].’ 320

Tuopa[67] Tuonelan[21] emäntä[188]

Sanan[3] virkkoi[43], noin[44] nimesi[45]:

‘Ei[233] Tuoni[2] sanoja[3] anna[233],

Mana mahtia[5] jakele[234],

Etkä[235] täältä[48] pääsnekänä[235] 325

Sinä[236] ilmoisna[237] ikänä[238]

Kotihisi[239] kulkemahan[240],

Maillesi[241] matelemahan[242].’

Uuvutti[243] unehen[244] miehen[164],

Pani[245] maata[246] matkalaisen[247] 330

Tuonen[2] taljavuotehelle[248];

Siinä mies[164] makaelevi[249],

Uros[182] unta[250] ottelevi[251],

Mies[164] makasi[246], vaate[93] valvoi[251a].

Oli akka[178] Tuonelassa[21], 335

Akka[178] vanha[18] käykkäleuka[251b],

Rautarihman[251c] kehreäjä[251d],

Vaskilankojen[251e] valaja[252],

Kehräsi[251a] sataisen[253] nuotan[254],

Tuhantisen[255] tuuritteli[256] 340

Yönä[257] yhtena[258] kesäisnä[259],

Yhellä[260] vesikivellä[261].

Oli ukko[262] Tuonelassa[21],

Se on ukko[262] kolmisormi[263],

Rautaverkkojen[264] kutoja[265], 345

Vaskinuotan[266] valmistaja[267],

Se kutoi[268] sataisen[253] nuotan[254],

Tuhantisen[255] tuikutteli[269]

Samana[270] kesäisnä [259] yönä[257],

Samalla[270] vesikivellä[261]. 350

Tuonen[2] poika[271] koukkusormi[272],

Koukkusormi[272], rautanäppi[273],

Se veti[274] sataisen[253] nuotan[254]

Poikki[32] Tuonelan[21] joesta[275],

Sekä[276] poikki[32], jotta[276] pitkin[190], 355

Jotta[276] vieläki[107] vitahan[277],

Jott’[276] ei päästä[278] Väinämöisen,

Selvitä[279] Uvantolaisen

Sina[236] ilmoisna[237] ikänä [258],

Kuuna[280] kullan[281] valkeana[282] 360

Tuolta[67] Tuonelan[21] koista[283],

Manalan[4] ikimajoista[284].

Vaka[17] vanha[18] Väinämöinen

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: v. 173.

‘Joko[12] lie[285] tuhoni[286] tullut[285], 365

Hätäpäivä[287] päälle[288] pääsnyt[235]

Näillä Tuonelan[21] tuvilla[211],

Manalan[4] majantehilla[289]?’

Pian[290] muuksi[291] muuttelihe[292],

Ruton[293] toiseksi[10] rupesi[294], 370

Meni[295] mustana[41] merehen[296],

Sarvana[297] saraikkohon[298],

Matoi[299] rautaisna[300] matona[197],

Kulki[240] kyisnä[301] käärmehenä[302]

Poikki[32] Tuonelan[21] joesta[275], 375

Läpi[303] Tuonen[2] verkkoloista[304].

Tuonen[2] poika[271] koukkusormi[272],

Koukkusormi[272], rautanäppi[273],

Kävi[7] aamulla[305] varahin[306]

Verkkojansa[304] katsomahan[193], 380

Sa’an[307] saapi[308] taimenia[309],

Tuhat[310] emon alvehia[311],

Eip’[308] on[72] saanut[308] Väinämöistä[312],

Ukkoa[262] Uvantolaista[312].

(Väimöinen journeys to the place of the dead to find his lost spells.)

He set out to fetch words from Tuoni

(Words of) power from Manala;

Going he stepped firmly,

Went a week through forests of young trees,

A second week through bird cherries, 155

A third week through junipers:

Already appeared the island of Manala,

The hill of Tuoni loomed.

The prudent old Wäinämöinen

Now shouting cried loudly 160

In the river of Tuoni

In the lowland of Manala.

‘Bring a boat, daughter of Tuoni,

A ship, child of Manala,

For my going over this creek, 165

For my crossing over the river.’

The dwarfish daughter of Tuoni,

The stunted maiden of Manala,

She was washing dirty linen,

Beating clothes, 170

In the black river of Tuoni,

In the marsh-water[19] of Manala;

Spoke a word, thus uttered,

Herself talked and conversed:

‘The boat will be brought 175

When the reason shall be told,

What brought thee to Mana,

Without slaying by disease

Without taking by a natural death

Without breaking by another death.’ 180

The prudent old Wäinämöinen,

Spoke a word, thus uttered:

‘Tuoni brought me hither,

Mana brought me from my lands.’

The dwarfish daughter of death, 185

The stunted maiden of Manala

Spoke this in words:

‘Now I recognize the liar.

Had Tuoni brought (thee) hither,

Mana removed from the earth, 190

Tuoni would have brought (thee) in his coming,

Manalainen in his journeying,

The hat of death on (thy) head (lit. necks),

The gloves of death on (thy) hand[20];

Speak the truth, Wäinämöinen: 195

What brought thee to Manala?’

The prudent old Wäinämöinen

Hereupon spoke in words:

‘Iron brought me to Mana,

Steel sped me to Tuonela.’ 200

The dwarfish daughter of Tuoni,

The stunted child of Manala,

Spoke a word, thus uttered:

‘From this I know the liar!

If iron had sent (thee) to Mana 205

Steel brought (thee) to Tuonela:

(Thy) clothes would drip with blood,

Would trickle with gore.

Speak the truth, Wäinämöinen,

Speak the truth a second time.’ 210

The prudent old Wäinämöinen

Himself spoke, thus uttered:

‘Water sent me to Mana,

The wave brought (me) to Tuonela.’

The dwarfish daughter of Tuoni 215

The stunted maiden of Manala,

Framed a word, thus uttered:

‘I detect the liar.

If water had sent (thee) to Mana,

The wave brought (thee) to Tuonela, 220

(Thy) clothes would drip with water

Thy bosom would flow.

Speak the exact truth:

What brought thee to Mana?’

Hereupon the old Wäinämöinen 225

Lied again a time.

‘Fire brought me to Tuonela,

Flame sent me to Mana.’

The dwarfish daughter of Tuoni,

The stunted maiden of Manala, 230

She spoke this in words.

‘I detect the liar.

If fire had brought thee to Mana,

Flame to Tuonela,

(Thy) ringlets would be singed, 235

And (thy) beard be badly burnt.

O thou old Wäinämöinen,

If thou desirest the boat from here,

Speak the exact truth,

Last lies, 240

Why thou hast come to Mana,

Without slaying by disease,

Without taking by natural death,

Without destroying by another death.’

Said the old Wäinämöinen: 245

‘If I lied a little,

Told an untruth a second time,

Yet (now) I speak the truth:

I was making a boat with skill,

Constructing a ship with singing: 250

I sang a day, I sang a second,

Now on the third day

The sledge broke from my verses,

The foot-piece broke from my speech.

I set forth to obtain an auger from Tuoni, 255

A gimlet from Manala,

For my building the sledge,

For my arranging the basket-sledge of song[21].

So bring the boat here,

Prepare for me thy ship, 260

For my going over this creek,

For my crossing over the river.’

Greatly Tuonetar was wroth

The maiden of Mana was angry:

‘Alas, fool, for thy folly, 265

Man, for the smallness of thy sense.

Thou comest without a cause to Tuonela,

Without sickness to the dwellings of Mana:

Better were it for thee

To return to thy own lands. 270

Many are they who come hither,

Not many they who return.’

Said the old Wäinämöinen—

‘Let an old woman turn from the path,

Not even a worse man, 275

Not a duller hero.

Bring the boat, daughter of Tuoni,

The ship, child of Manala.’

The daughter of Tuoni brought the boat,

With it the old Wäinämöinen 280

Across the creek she carried.

Conveyed over the river.

Herself she spoke this in words.

‘Woe to thee, Wäinämöinen,

Thou hast come without death to Mana, 285

Without dying to Tuonela.’

Tuonetar, the good hostess,

Manalatar the old woman[22]

Brought beer in a cup,

Bore (it) in a two-handled vessel. 290

Herself framed this in words:

‘Drink old Wäinämöinen.’

Prudent old Wäinämöinen

Looked up and down over his cup.

Frogs were wriggling in the inside, 295

Worms crawled at the edges.

Then he framed this in words:

‘I came not here at all

To drink the pots of Manala,

To empty the cups of Tuoni. 300

The drinkers of beer get drunk,

The drainers of the cup fall.’

The hostess of Tuonela said:

‘O old Wäinämöinen,

Why hast thou come to Mana, 305

To the dwellings of Tuonela

Before the bidding of Tuoni,

The calling of Mana from the earth?’

Old Wäinämöinen said:

‘In my hewing a boat, 310

In fashioning a new ship,

I lost three words,

In finishing the end-piece,

In building up a structure of wood.

Since I have not found them, 315

Or met in the wide world,

It was necessary to come to Tuonela,

To set out for the habitations of Mana,

In order to find those words,

To learn dark sayings.’ 320

The hostess of Tuoni,

Spoke a word, thus uttered:

‘Tuoni does not give words,

(Nor) Mana distribute (words of) power,

And thou wilt not get free from here 325

In all this life

To go to thy home,

To return to thy land.’

She made the man sink into slumber,

Laid the traveller to sleep, 330

On to the skin rugs of Tuoni.

Then the man slept,

The hero took slumber,

The man slept, the clothes watched.

There was a hag in Tuonela, 335

An old hag with a sharp chin,

A spinner of iron threads,

A caster of brass threads.

She spun a hundred fold net,

Wrought one of a thousand fold 340

In one summer night

On one water-stone.

There was an old man in Tuonela.

He is an old man with three fingers,

A weaver of iron nets, 345

A preparer of brass nets.

He wove a hundred-fold net,

Forged one of a thousand-fold

In the same summer night

On the same water stone. 350

Tuoni’s son with crooked fingers,

With crooked fingers, with iron nails,

He spread the hundred fold net

Across the river of Tuoni,

Both across and along, 355

And also slantwise,

That it might not let pass Wäinämöinen

(Or) free Uvantolainen,

In all this life,

While the golden moon shines, 360

From there, from the homes of Tuoni,

From the eternal dwellings of Mana.

Prudent old Wäinämöinen

Spoke a word, thus uttered:

‘Can my doom have already come, 365

The day of misfortune have lighted on my head,

In these dwellings of Tuonela,

In the abodes of Manala.’

Suddenly he changed himself to another shape,

Swiftly he became other, 370

Went black into the water,

As an otter into the reedy place,

Crept like an iron worm,

Moved like a viper snake

Across the river of Tuonela, 375

Through the nets of Tuoni.

Tuoni’s son with crooked fingers,

With crooked fingers and iron nails,

Went in the morning early.

To look at his nets, 380

Catches a hundred small fish

A thousand fry,

Did not catch Wäinämöinen

The old Uvantolainen.

KALEVALA XL. 113 ff.

[While Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen, and Ilmarinen are sailing to Pohjola, the ship goes aground. Väinämöinen asks Lemminkäinen to find out what is the matter.]

Se on[72] lieto[313] Lemminkäinen[314]

Pyörähtihe[315] katsomahan[193],

Katsovi[193] venosen[155] alle[316], 115

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: v. xvi. 182.

‘Ei ole veno[155] kivellä[261],

Ei kivellä, ei haolla[317],

Vene[25] on hauin[318] hartioilla[70],

Ve’en[98] koiran[319] konkkaluilla[320].’ 120

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen {v. xvi. 151,

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: {182.

‘Jotaki[321] joessa[22] onpi[322],

Hakojaki[323], haukiaki[318];

Kun[50] lie[285] hauin[318] hartioilla[79], 125

Ve’en koiran konkkaluilla, v. l. 120.

Veä[324] miekalla[325] vetehen[98],

Katkaise[326] kala[327] kaheksi[328]!’

Se on lieto Lemminkäinen, v. l. 113.

Poika[271] veitikka[329] verevä[330] 130

Miekan[325] vyöltänsä[331] vetävi[324],

Luunpurian[332] puoleltansa[333];

Veti[324] miekalla[325] meryttä[334],

Alta[335] laian[198] laskettavi[336],

Itse vierähti[337] vetehen[98], 135

Kourin[338] aaltohon[99] kohahti[339].

Siitä[340] seppo[341] Ilmarinen[342]

Tarttui[343] tukkahan[344] urosta[345],

Nostalti[346] merestä[295] miehen[164],

Itse tuon sanoiksi virkki: v. xvi. 283.

‘Kaikki[347] on mieheksi[164] kyhätty[348],

Pantu[245] parran[117] kantajaksi[191],

Lisäksi[349] satalu’ulle[350],

Tuhannelle[351] täytteheksi[352].’

Miekan vyöltänsä vetävi, v. line 131.

Tupestansa[353] tuiman[354] rauan[85],

Jolla[355] kalhaisi[356] kaloa[327],

Alta[335] laian[198] läimähytti[357];

Miekka[325] murskaksi[358] mureni[359],

Eipä hauki[318] tiennytkänä[360]. 150

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen {v. xvi. 197,

Tuossa tuon sanoiksi virkki: {198.

‘Ei ole teissä[361] puolta[362] miestä[164],

Ei urosta[182] kolmannesta[363];

Kun[50] konsa[364] tulevi[120] tarve[365], 155

Miehen[164] mieltä[165] vaaitahan[366],

Silloin[367] mieli[165] melkeässä[368],

Kaikki[347] toimi[369] toisialla[370].’

Itse miekkansa[325] veälti[371],

Tempasi terävän rauan, v. xxxvi. 326.

Työnti[372] miekkansa[325] merehen[295],

Alle[316] laian[198] langetteli[373]

Kalahauin[374] hartioihin[79],

Ve’en koiran konkkaluihin. v. line 120.

Miekka[325] luottihe[375] lujahan[376], 165

Kitasihin[377] kiinnittihe[378];

Siitä[340] vanha Väinämöinen

Nostalti[346] kaloa[327] tuota[67],

Veti[324] haukia[318] ve’estä[98]:

Hauki[31] katkesi[379] kaheksi[328], 170

Pursto[380] pohjahan[381] putosi[382],

Pää[288] kavahti[383] karpahasen[384].

Jo[12] otti[385] venonen[155] juosta[386],

Pääsi[235] pursi[136] puutoksesta[387];

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen 175

Luotti[388] purren[136] luotoselle[389],

Ravahutti[390] rantasehen[391],

Katselevi, kääntelevi v. xxxvi. 321.

Tuota[67] hauin[318] pääpaloa[392],

Itse tuon sanoiksi virkki: v. xvi. 283.

‘Ken[393] on vanhin[18] sulholoista[394],

Sepä hauki halkomahan[395],

Kala[327] viploin[396] viiltämähän[397],

Pää[298] paloiksi[322] pahkomahan[398]!’

Miehet[164] purresta[136] puhuvat[399], 185

Vaimot[189] lausui[46] laitasilta[400]:

‘Saajanpa[401] käet[81] sulimmat[402],

Sormet[263] pyytäjän[403] pyhimmät[404].’

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen

Veti[324] veitsen[405] huotrastansa[406], 190

Kyleltänsä[407] kylmän[408] rauan[85],

Jolla[355] hauin[318] halkaisevi[409],

Pahkovi[410] kalan[327] paloiksi[392],

Itse tuon sanoiksi virkki: v. xvi. 283.

‘Ken[393] on nuorin[411] neitosista[412], 195

Sepä hauki keittämähän

Murkinaisiksi[414] muruiksi[415],

Kalaisiksi[416] lounahiksi[417]!’

Kävi[7] neiet[38] keittämähän[413],

Kävi[7] kilvan[418] kymmenenki[419]; 200

Siitä[340] hauki[318] keitetähän[420],

Murkinoiahan[421] muruina[422],

Jäipä[423] luita[424] luotoselle[389],

Kalanluita[424] kalliolle[425].

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen 205

Noita[226] tuossa[84] katselevi,

Katselevi, kääntelevi, v. xxxvi. 321.

Sanan virkkoi, noin nimesi: v. xvi. 182.

‘Mikä tuostaki[426] tulisi[126],

Noista[427] hauin[218] hampahista[428], 210

Leveästä[429] leukaluusta[430],

Jos[102] oisi[114] sepon[341] pajassa[431],

Luona[432] taitavan[433] takojan[434],

Miehen,[164] mahtavan[435] käsissä[81]?’

Sanoi[128] seppo[134] Ilmarinen: 215

‘Ei tule[126] tyhjästä[436] mitänä[437],

Kalan[327] ruotasta[438] kalua[439],

Ei seponkana[341] pajassa,

Luona taitavan takojan, v. lines 213, 214.

Miehen mahtavan käsissä.’

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen

Itse tuon sanoiksi virkki: v. xvi. 283.

‘Näistäpä[130] toki tulisi[126]

Kalanluinen[424] kanteloinen[440],

Kun[50] oisi[114] osoajata[441], 225

Soiton[442] luisen[424] laatiata[443].’

Kun[50] ei toista[10] tullutkana[175],

Ei ollut osoajata[441],

Soiton luisen laatiata, v. line 226.

Vaka vanha Väinämöinen 230

Itse loihe[444] laatiaksi[443],

Tekiäksi[445] teentelihe[446];

Laati[153] soiton[442] hauinluisen[424],

Suoritti[447] ilon[448] ikuisen[449].

Kust’[450] on koppa[451] kanteletta[452]? 235

Hauin[318] suuren[453] leukaluusta[430];

Kust’[450] on naulat[454] kanteletta[452]?

Ne on hauin[318] hampahista[428];

Kusta[450] kielet[454] kanteletta[452]?

Hivuksista[455] Hiien[456] ruunan[457]. 240

Jo oli soitto[442] suorittuna[458],

Valmihina[459] kanteloinen[440],

Soitto[442] suuri[453] hauinluinen[421],

Kantelo[440] kalaneväinen[460].

THE INVENTION OF THE HARP.

The gay Lemminkäinen

Turned himself to see,

Looked under the boat, 115

Spoke a word, thus spoke:

‘The boat is not on a stone,

Not on a stone, not on timber,

The boat is on the neck of a pike,

On the hip bones of a water dog.’ 120

The prudent old Väinämöinen,

Spoke a word, thus said:

‘There are all sorts of things in a river,

Timber, pikes:

If it be on the neck of a pike, 125

On the hips of a water-dog,

Smite with the sword into the water,

Cut the fish in two.’

The gay Lemminkäinen,

The bright lively youth, 130

Draws the sword from his girdle,

The bone biter from his side;

Struck the sea with the sword,

Stirs under the side (of the ship).

Himself rolled into the water, 135

Fell splash into the billow hands foremost.

Then the smith Ilmarinen,

Clung on to the hair of the hero,

Raised the man from the sea.

Himself spoke this in words: 140

‘Every-one is formed to be a man,

Made to be a bearer of a beard,

To be a supplement to the number of a hundred,

To complete a thousand[23].’

He draws the sword from his girdle, 145

The cruel iron from his sheath,

With which he smote the fish,

Struck below the side (of the ship).

The sword broke into pieces,

The pike did not even perceive. 150

Prudent old Väinämöinen

On this spoke this in words:

‘There is not in you half a man,

Not the third part of a hero,

When need comes, 155

The mind of a man is wanted,

Then (your) mind fails,

All (your) sense is away.’

He himself drew his sword,

Seized the sharp iron 160

Struck his sword into the sea,

Smote below the side (of the ship)

On-to the neck of the pike fish,

On to the hip bones of the water dog.

The sword was driven home into the firm (flesh), 165

Fixed in the gills;

Then old Väinämöinen

Brought up that fish,

Drew the pike from the water;

The pike fell in two; 170

The tail dropped to the bottom of the sea,

The head rolled into the boat.

Now the boat began to run,

The vessel got free from the impediment.

Prudent old Väinämöinen 175

Brought the vessel near to shore,

Drove her on to the strand,

Looked at and turned

That head-piece of the pike.

Himself spoke this in words: 180

‘Who is the oldest of the youths,

(Let him come) to cut up the pike,

Divide the fish into pieces,

Split the head into bits.’

The men speak from the ship, 185

The women cry from the shore:

‘The hands of the catcher are the purest,

The fingers of the seeker are the holiest.’

The prudent old Väinämöinen

Drew a knife from his sheath, 190

The cold iron from his side,

With which he cuts up the pike,

Splits the fish into pieces.

Himself spoke this in words:—

‘Who is the youngest of the women, 195

(Let her come) to cook the pike,

Into morsels for dinner,

Into a fish midday meal.’

The women went to cook,

Ten went in rivalry; 200

Then the pike is cooked,

Pieces for dinner;

The bones remained on the shore,

The fish bones on the edge of the sea.

The prudent old Väinämöinen 205

Looked at them there,

Looked, turned,

Spoke a word, thus uttered:

‘What might come from this,

From these teeth of the pike, 210

From the broad jaw bone,

If it were in the smithy of a smith,

With a clever forger,

In the hands of a cunning man?’

Said the smith Ilmarinen:— 215

‘There comes not anything from nothingness,

No instrument from the mouth of a fish,

Not even in the smithy of a smith,

With a clever forger,

In the hands of a cunning man.’ 220

Prudent old Väinämöinen

Himself spoke this in words:

‘Yet from these might come

A fish-bone harp,

Were there but an artist, 225

A maker of bone playing-instruments.’

When there came no other,

(When there) was not any artist,

(No) maker of bone playing-instruments,

Prudent old Väinämöinen 230

Himself became a maker,

Appeared as a fabricator:

Made an instrument of pike-bone,

Made ready an eternal joy.

Of what is the body of the harp? 235

Of the jaw-bone of the great pike.

Of what are the pegs of the harp?

They are the teeth of the pike.

Of what are the strings of the harp?

Of the hairs of the courser of Hiisi. 240

Now the instrument was prepared,

The harp made ready,

A great instrument of pike-bone,

A harp of fish-fins.

[1] 3rd sing. imperf. of lähteä (rule 40); lähti is also found. The lit. meaning of this word is to set out, but it is used sometimes with an object to mean to go after, to fetch.

[2] Ablative sing. of tuoni, death. Mana is a synonym.

[3] Part. plur. of sana, word (rule 7), obj. of läksi.

[4] Ablative sing. of Manala, abode of death (v. p. 47 for the suffix).

[5] Part. plur. of mahti, power, obj. of läksi; for suffix loi, v. p. 225.

[6] For constr. v. p. 188; astua, 1st infin., to step; taputtelevi, 3rd pers. sing. pres. (p. 228) of taputella, to tread heavily or firmly.

[7] 3rd sing. imperf. of käydä (rule 5, p. 9), to go or traverse.

[8] Accusative sing. of wiikko, week, denoting duration (v. p. 137).

[9] These three words are formed with the suffix kko (p. 47) from the words witsa, small tree or shoot; tuomi, bird-cherry, Swedish hägg; and kataja, juniper.

[10] Accusative sing. of toinen (p. 35).

[11] Accusative sing. of kolmas (p. 35).

[12] Adv. now or already.

[13] 3rd. sing. imperf. of näkyä, neut. form of nähdä, to see (p. 109).

[14] Nominative sing. of stem saari, an island.

[15] Nominative sing. a hill.

[16] 3rd sing. pres. of kuumottaa, to loom or be seen indistinctly.

[17] This is a constant epithet of Wäinämöinen, meaning literally firm, and then used to denote a kind of steady prudence, which is a natural characteristic of the Finns, and (like Scotch canniness) untranslatable, though more frivolous nations might render it by stolid.

[18] Adj. old, also a constant epithet.

[19] 1st infin.; for constr. v. p. 188.

[20] 3rd sing. imperf. of huikahuttaa. Like the last word this is onomatopœic.

[21] Genitive sing. of Tuonela, place of Tuoni (v. p. 47).

[22] Inessive sing. of joki, a river (rule 28).

[23] Inessive sing. of alanne, lowland or depth (stem alantehe).

[24] 2nd sing. imper. of tuoda (p. 80).

[25] Part. sing. of vene, a boat; stem venehe (cf. terve, p. 39), obj. of tuo.

[26] = tyttö, diminutive, nom. sing.

[27] = lauttaa (p. 225), part. sing. of lautta, ship.

[28] Nominative sing. of stem lapsi, child.

[29] Preposition with gen. (v. p. 217) across.

[30] Genitive sing. of salmi, creek, depending on yli (p. 217).

[31] = saadakseni, longer form of 1st infin. of root saa (here used intransitively) with suffix of 1st pers. pron. For constr. v. p. 185.

[32] Postposition (p. 204) governing the genitive joen.

[33] Longer form of päästä (root pääse) with suffix of 1st pers.

[34] Nominative sing. dimin. adj. from lyhyt (p. 48).

[35] Nominative sing. low, dwarfish.

[36] Nominative sing. a maiden.

[37] Genitive plur. of poukku, dirty linen.

[38] = pesijä, washer, v. p. 196.

[39] Genitive plur. of räväs (stem räpähä), rag.

[40] Nominative sing. a beater; cf. räimätä, to beat.

[41] Inessive sing. of musta, black.

[42] Inessive sing. of compound noun alusvesi (p. 34).

[43] 3rd sing. imperf. (the form varies between virkki and virkkoi) from virkkaa, to speak.

[44] Instr. plur. of tuo, thus.

[45] 3rd sing. imperf. of nimetä, literally to name.

[46] 3rd sing. imperf. of lausua, to call.

[47] 3rd sing. imperf. of pakista, to talk or speak.

[48] Adv. thence; abl. of tämä, this; täällä, täältä are written with two ä’s when used adverbially.

[49] = tuotaneen, concessive passive of tuoda, to bear. The final n of the passive is omitted. For constr. v. pp. 177 and 182.

[50] = kun, when.

[51] Nominative sing. a cause.

[52] Conditional passive of sanoa, to speak (= sanottaneen).

[53] = mikä.

[54] 3rd sing. imperf. of saattaa, causative form of saada (p. 110), to cause to come or bring; for form v. rule 7.

[55] Prep. with the abessive (p. 203): used also as adverb. Apparently genitive of ilma, air, but connection of meaning is obscure.

[56] = taudin, gen. sing. of tauti, disease, constr. with tappamatta (p. 184).

[57] Abessive of the 3rd infin. of tappaa, to kill (p. 193).

[58] Abessive of 3rd infin. of ottaa, to take.

[59] Genitive sing. of oiva, right or proper.

[60] Genitive sing. of surma, fate; a right fate is a natural death. For constr. v. p. 184.

[61] Genitive sing. of muu, other; another fate means one other than a natural death.

[62] Abessive of 3rd infin. of musertaa, to break.

[63] Adv. hither, v. p. 24.

[64] 3rd sing. imperf. from tuottaa, causal of tuoda, to bear.

[65] Ablative plur. of maa, land, with affix of 1st person.

[66] 3rd sing. imperf. from vedellä, formed from vetää, to carry.

[67] Accusative sing. of pron. tuo, with adverbial suffix pa.

[68] Transl. plur. of sana after virkki, spoke this into words (p. 158).

[69] 1st sing. pres. of keksiä, to find or detect.

[70] Accusative sing. of kielastaja (from kieli, tongue). One who is ready with his tongue, hence a liar. The Finns are a silent race.

[71] kun, if, with adv. suffix pa.

[72] On, a particle of emphasis, not the verb substantive.

[73] 3rd sing. conditional of tuoda, to bring.

[74] 3rd sing. conditional of siirtellä, deriv. verb from siirtää.

[75] Inessive of 2nd infin. of tulla, to come, with pron. affix of 3rd person.

[76] Adjectival form from Manala (v. p. 46).

[77] Inessive of matka, a journey.

[78] Nominative sing. a hat. For the constr. of nominative absolute v. p. 134.

[79] Adessive plur. of hartia, neck or shoulders.

[80] Nominative plur. of kinnas, a glove, stem kintaha (p. 38).

[81] = kädessä, inessive of käsi, a hand (stem käte), for use v. p. 141.

[82] 2nd sing. imper. of sanoa, to speak.

[83] Part. sing. of tosi, truth (stem tote, v. p. 34).

[84] Inessive of tuo, there or thereupon.

[85] Nominative sing. (gen. raudan, rauan), iron.

[86] = minun, me.

[87] Nominative sing. of stem teräkse, steel.

[88] 3rd sing. imperf. of tempoa, cf. temmata.

[89] Elative sing. of tuo, from this.

[90] 1st sing. pres. of tuntea.

[91] 3rd sing. conditional of saada, meaning here to convey (cf. reflex. saapua). N.B. Pres. cond. used here with past signif.

[92] Instr. plur. of veri (stem vere), blood.

[93] Nominative plur. of vaate (stem vaattehe), garment.

[94] 3rd pers. sing. cond. (though with plur. subject) of valua, to drip.

[95] Instr. plur. of hurme, gore (stem hurmehe).

[96] 3rd sing. (for plural) cond. of hurahdella.

[97] Nom. sing. (gen. kerran) time; for use of nom. v. p. 137. In l. 224 the accusative is used in same constr.

[98] Nominative sing. of stem vete, p. 34.

[99] Nominative sing. (gen. aallon), billow.

[100] 1st pers. sing. pres. of ymmärtää, p. 93.

[101] Accusative sing. of valehtelia (or valhetelija), a liar, v. No. 129.

[102] Conj. if.

[103] Nominative sing. with affix of 2nd person.

[104] 3rd pers. sing. (for plur.) of herahdella, identical with hurahdella above.

[105] Part. plur. of tarkka, exact.

[106] Part. plur. of stem tote (nom. tosia), truth.

[107] Adv. once more.

[108] Accusative sing. of kerta, cf. No. 97.

[109] 3rd sing. pres. of kielestaa, v. No. 70.

[110] Nominative sing. of tule, fire.

[111] Nominative sing.; has two meanings, (1) white or bright, (2) flame; so here.

[112] = arvaan, 1st sing. pres. of arvata, to think or perceive, conjugated like luvata.

[113] Adj. from valkea (p. 47), the flaming one, i.e. fire.

[114] = olisi, here used for olisivat.

[115] Nominative plur. of kutri, a lock.

[116] = kärventyneenä, essive sing. of past part, act of kärventyä, neuter form of kärventää, to burn.

[117] Nominative parta, beard (gen. parran), with adverbial affix ki.

[118] Instrum. plur. of paha, bad, used adverbially (p. 161).

[119] Nominative sing. past part. act. of palaa, to burn (intrans.).

[120] An interjection.

[121] = sinä.

[122] = tahdot, 2nd pers. sing. pres. of tahtoa, to wish.

[123] Part. plur. of walhe, a lie (the cases and derivatives of this word are written either walhe or waleh).

[124] Part. plur. of viimeinen (stem sen), last, often employed in indeclinable form viime.

[125] Adv. fr. pron. stem mi.

[126] 2nd sing. imperf. of tulla, to come.

[127] Abessive of 3rd infin. of murentaa, to crush or break.

[128] Instr. of vähä, little, used adverbially.

[129] 1st sing. imperf. of valehdella, with suffix ki.

[130] Adv. yet.

[131] = minä.

[132] = todet, accusative plur. of stem tote, nominative tosi, truth.

[133] 1st sing. imperf. of tehdä, stem teke.

[134] = tiedolla, adessive sing. of tieto, knowledge, used instrumentally, v. p. 152.

[135] = laadin, 1st pers. imperf. of laatia, to fashion.

[136] Part. sing. of pursi (stem purte), ship; part. is used because action was not completed, v. p. 127.

[137] Adessive of 3rd infin. of laulaa, to sing (p. 193).

[138] 1st sing. imperf. of same verb (p. 85).

[139] Accusative sing. of päivä, day (p. 137).

[140] Instr. plur. of se, used adverbially.

[141] Adessive sing. of kolmas (p. 35); the essive would be more usual as a definite date is mentioned (p. 150).

[142] 3rd sing. imperf. of rikkoa, to break (v. p. 227).

[143] Nominative sing. sledge (p. 33).

[144] Ablative plur. of runo, verse (p. 154).

[145] Nominative sing. of stem jalakse (fr. jala, foot), the foot or end of a sledge.

[146] 3rd sing. imperf. from taittua, to bend, reflex. form of taittaa (p. 109).

[147] Ablative plur. of lause (stem lausehe).

[148] = oraa, part. sing, of ora, a gimlet.

[149] Part. sing. of vääntiä, an auger.

[150] Accusative sing. of rekonen, dim. fr. reke, a sledge.

[151] = rakentaa (p. 93) 1st infin. with affix of 1st person (p. 187).

[152] Accusative sing. compound word formed from laulu, song, and korja, a basket sledge (Swedish korgsläde).

[153] v. No. 135, 1st infin. with suffix of 1st person.

[154] Adv. now.

[155] Part. sing. of venoinen, dim. of vene, boat.

[156] 2nd sing. imperf. of laittaa, to make ready.

[157] = minulle.

[158] kyllä, adv. much; originally a subst. meaning plenty.

[159] Nominative sing. of tuonettare, from stem tuone, with affix ttare (p. 46).

[160] 3rd sing. pres. of torua, to chide.

[161] 3rd sing. pres. of riidella (stem riitele), to quarrel or be angry.

[162] Nominative sing., a fool.

[163] Part. sing, with affix of 2nd pers. of stem hulluute, folly, derived from hullu (p. 47); for use of part, after oi, v. p. 136.

[164] Nominative sing. of stem miehe.

[165] Gen. sing. of mieli, with affix of 2nd pers. sing.

[166] Part. sing. of stem vähyyte (after oi), formed like hulluus, above, from vähä, little.

[167] Abessive sing. of syy, cause; tauitta (from tauti) is same case.

[168] Allative sing. (after tulet) from maja, a habitation.

[169] Nominative of stem parempa, comp. of hyvä, good.

[170] For constr. v. p. 138.

[171] 1st infin. and root to return, conjugated like luvata.

[172] Adessive plur. of oma, own.

[173] Adessive plur. of maa, land.

[174] Adv. and adj. much.

[175] Part. plur. of stem tullehe (nominative sing. tullut, p. 40), 2nd part. act. of tulla, to come.

[176] Adv. much.

[177] v. 175; this is corresponding form from palata, to return.

[178] Nominative sing., an old woman.

[179] Ablative sing. tie, a way.

[180] = kääntyköön, 3rd sing. opt. of kääntyä, reflex. form of kääntää, to turn.

[181] Nominative of compar. of paha, bad (p. 42), with adv. affix kana. N.B. As ei is indic. and not imper. the line must mean ‘the meanest man will not.’

[182] Nominative sing. stem uroho (p. 38).

[183] Nominative of compar. of untelo, sleepy or dull, from untua, to be sleepy.

[184] 3rd sing. imperf. of viedä (rule 4).

[185] saatella, päästellä are derivative forms from saada, päästä (p. 111).

[186] Abessive of 3rd infin. of kuolla, to die.

[187] Nominative sing. good.

[188] Nominative sing. (gen. emännän), mistress or hostess.

[189] Adessive sing. of tuoppi. The inessive would seem more natural.

[190] Part. sing. of olut, beer, stem olue; cf. kevät, p. 39; for part. v. p. 135.

[191] 3rd sing. of kantaa, to bear.

[192] Adessive sing. of kaksikorvainen, formed of kaksi, two; korva, ear, with adj. ending inen, two-eared or two-handled.

[193] 2nd sing. imperf. of juoda, to drink.

[194] 3rd sing. imperf. of katsoa, to look.

[195] Prep. governing partitive tuoppiansa (p. 204).

[196] Nominative plur. of sammakko, frog.

[197] 3rd sing. (for plural) imperf. of kutea.

[198] Adessive sing. of sisä, interior (cf. p. 214).

[199] = madot, nominative plur. of mato, worm.

[200] = laidoilla, adessive plur. of laita, side.

[201] = mateli (which perhaps should be read), imperf. of madella (sing. for plur.), to creep (connected mato).

[202] Accusative plur. of malja, a cup.

[203] Illative of 3rd infin. of lakkia. For the construction of this and of juomahan, v. p. 192.

[204] 3rd pers. plur. pres. of juopua (p. 111).

[205] Nominative plur. of juoja (p. 45).

[206] Genitive sing. of kannu, a cup, or can.

[207] Nominative plur. of appaja, formed from appaa, to eat or drink greedily.

[208] 3rd plur. pres. of stem katota, 1st infin. kadota, conjugated like koota (p. 104).

[209] Part. of mitä, used adverbially, why.

[210] Part. of kuka, here used like mikä.

[211] Allative plur. (after tulit) of tupa, house.

[212] Adv. before.

[213] Abessive of 3rd infin. of tahtoa, to wish. There is here a confusion of two ideas, without the will of Tuoni and before the bidding of Tuoni.

[214] Ablative plur. of maa, land.

[215] Abessive of 3rd infin. of kutsua, to call.

[216] Inessive of 2nd infin. of veistää, to cut, from veitsi, a knife, v. p. 189.

[217] Part. sing. of uusi (stem uute), new; part. because action was not complete.

[218] Inessive of 2nd infin. of puuhata, like luvata.

[219] 1st pers. sing. of uupua, to fall asleep, to lose; cf. No. 243.

[220] Part. of kolme, three, followed by part. sing. of sana (p. 172).

[221] = peräpää, lit. end-head, i.e. extreme part.

[222] Inessive of 2nd infin. of päätellä, derived from päättää, to finish.

[223] = kokkaa, part. sing. of kokka, prow.

[224] Inessive of 2nd infin. of kohottaa, transitive form of kohota, to swell or rise.

[225] 1st sing. imperf. neg. of saada, with adv. affix kana.

[226] Part. plur. of tuo used after negative.

[227] Ablative plur. of ilma, air. maailma (earth, air) means universe, and the present expression, in which the two elements are declined, has much the same force.

[228] Nominative sing. 2nd part. active of tavata (root tapata), conjugated like luvata; en must be understood with this participle.

[229] 3rd sing. imperf. of pitää (here impersonal, oportere).

[230] Illative of 3rd infin. of saada. N.B. This infin. does not depend on piti, but denotes the purpose of the action; v. p. 192.

[231] Part. plur. of ongelmo (derived from onki), a crooked saying, a riddle.

[232] Illative of 3rd infin. of oppia, to learn.

[233] 3rd. sing. pres. neg. of antaa, to give (p. 69).

[234] Negative form (understand ei) of jaella, derived from jakaa, to divide or distribute.

[235] 2nd pers. sing. concessive negative of päästä (like nousta).

[236] Essive of se.

[237] Essive sing. of ilmoinen, derived from ilma (the open space or air) and apparently meaning long.

[238] Essive of ikä, life. For temporal meaning of essive, v. p. 157. The whole expression apparently means in this long life, i.e. as long as you live.

[239] Illative plur. of koti, home, with affix of 2nd pers. pron.

[240] Illative of 3rd infin. of kulkea, to go.

[241] Allative plur. of maa, land, with affix of 2nd pers.

[242] Illative of 3rd infin. of madella.

[243] 3rd sing. imperf. of uuvuttaa, to tire or throw to sleep.

[244] = uneen, illative sing. of uni, sleep; the illative is used on account of the idea of change of state in uuvutti.

[245] 3rd sing. imp. of panna (like tulla), to put.

[246] 1st infin. of root makata (like lupata), to sleep. The expression panna maata is generally used in an intransitive sense, to go to bed.

[247] Acc. sing. of matkalainen, a traveller, deriv. from matka, journey.

[248] Allative sing. (on account of motion in lying down unto) of compound noun composed of talja and vuode, both meaning skin, or fur.

[249] 3rd sing. pres. of makaella, derivative verb from maata.

[250] Part. sing. of uni.

[251] Derivative verb from ottaa, to take.

[251a] 3rd sing. imperf. of valvoa, to watch. The expression is a proverb, and means he slept with one eye open.

[251b] Nominative sing. of compound adj. formed of käykkä, prominent, and leuka, chin.

[251c] Genitive sing. of compound substantive formed of rauta, iron, and rihma, thread.

[251d] Noun of agency formed with affix ja from kehrätä, to spin.

[251e] Genitive plur. of vaskilanka, compound of vaski, brass, and lanka, twine.

[252] Noun of agency from valaa, to pour or make by casting.

[253] Accusative sing. of satainen, hundred-fold, here meaning complicated or large.

[254] Accusative sing. of nuotta, a large net.

[255] Accusative sing. of tuhantinen; v. satainen, above.

[256] 3rd sing. imperf. of tuuritella, to knit (from tuurittaa).

[257] Essive sing. of yö, night (p. 157).

[258] Essive sing. of yksi.

[259] Essive sing. of kesäinen, adj. from kesä, summer; kesäisenä, contracted to kesäisnä.

[260] = yhdellä (p. 51).

[261] Adessive sing. of compound subst. formed of vesi, water, and kivi, stone.

[262] Nominative sing. an old man.

[263] Nominative sing. compound of kolme, three (N.B. in compounds the e becomes i), and sormi, a finger.

[264] Genitive plur. of rautaverkko, compound of rauta, iron, and verkko, a net.

[265] Noun of agency from kutoa, to weave.

[266] Genitive sing. of vaskinuotta; v. Nos. 251 and 254.

[267] Noun of agency from valmistaa, to make ready.

[268] 3rd sing. imperf. of kutoa.

[269] 3rd sing. imperf. of tuikutella.

[270] Essive of sama, the same.

[271] Nominative sing. (gen. pojan), a boy.

[272] Compound adj. koukku, a hook, sormi, a finger.

[273] Compound adj. rauta, iron, näppi, finger tip.

[274] 3rd sing. imperf. of vetää, to draw or spread.

[275] Elative sing. of joki, river; alatse, läpi, poikki, yli, sometimes take the elative instead of partitive in the Kalevala.

[276] sekä ... jotta = both ... and, but the third jotta introduces a final sentence with the verb in the indicative, not in the subjunctive, as is more usual.

[277] Illative sing. of vita, crosswise.

[278] Negative pres. of päästää, to let go.

[279] Negative pres. of selvittää, to liberate (from selvä, free or clear).

[280] Essive of kuu, moon.

[281] Genitive sing. of kulta, gold.

[282] Essive of walkea, bright. The meaning of these three words is clearly as long as the moon shines, but their exact relation to each other is a little obscure. Kullan is apparently an attributive genitive belonging to kuun, and the essive is to be taken in a temporal sense. Literally, in the moon of gold shining. Cf. XLIX. 116. Päivä-kullan paistamahan.

[283] Elative plur. of koti, home.

[284] Elative plur. of ikimaja, compound of iki, always, and maja, dwelling.

[285] Compound concessive of tulla; lie = lienee. For use of the concessive in questions, v. p. 177.

[286] Nominative sing. with affix of 1st person.

[287] Compound of hätä, straits or danger, and päivä, day.

[288] Allative sing. of pää, head.

[289] Adessive plur. of majanne (stem -tehe) formed from maja (p. 47), a poor dwelling.

[290] Genitive of pika, swiftness, used adverbially.

[291] Translative sing. of muu, other; for use of the case here and in toiseksi after verbs denoting change (v. p. 158).

[292] 3rd pers. sing, imperf. (v. p. 109) of muutella, derived from muuttaa, to make other (muu), or change.

[293] Genitive of rutto, rapid, used adverbially.

[294] 3rd sing. imperf. of ruveta, to begin or become.

[295] 3rd sing. imperf. of mennä, to go.

[296] Illative of meri, sea.

[297] Essive of sarva (or saarva), an otter. For the case of this and mustana, etc., v. p. 157.

[298] Illative sing. of saraikko, formed from sara, sedge; cf. No. 9.

[299] 3rd sing. imperf. of matoa, to creep.

[300] Essive sing. of rautainen, iron.

[301] Essive of kyinen (stem se) adj. from kyy, a viper.

[302] Essive of käärme (stem käärmehe), a serpent.

[303] Preposition with elat. v. No. 280.

[304] Part. plur. of verkko, net; cf. No. 5.

[305] Adessive of aamu, morning (p. 150).

[306] = varhain, adv. early.

[307] = sadan, accusative of sata, hundred.

[308] 3rd sing. pres. of saa.

[309] Part. plur. of taimen (stem taimene), a kind of fish (salmo fario or trutta, Lönnrot).

[310] a thousand, p. 52.

[311] Emon is gen. of emo (= emä), mother; alvehia, part. plur. of alve (stem alpehe, a young fish). The phrase seems to mean fry that follow their mother.

[312] Part. cases of Väinämöinen and Uvantolainen, after negative verb.

[313] Nominative sing. adj. originally muddy; thence soft or light; explained as meaning here kevytmielinen, light-minded.

[314] Also called Ahti and Kaukomieli. The most fascinating and adventurous of the heroes of the Kalevala, but sadly deficient in moral sense. He was much attached to female society, which led to his being killed, apparently very thoroughly, in book xiv., but in xv. his mother resuscitates him; he did not, however, learn wisdom. Books xxvi. and xxvii. recount his struggle with the people of Pohjola, with whom he was on bad terms owing to his not being invited to the marriage of Ilmarinen, and in xxix. he had to fly to Saari, whence however he was expelled (owing to his light conduct with a thousand brides and a hundred widows), and has further adventures in xxx. In the rest of the Kalevala he plays rather a secondary part.

[315] 3rd pers. sing. imperf. (p. 227) from pyörähtää, to turn (pyörä, wheel or circle).

[316] Postposition governing venosen; the allative is used because motion is implied.

[317] Adessive sing. of hako, timber floating in water.

[318] Genitive sing. of hauki, pike.

[319] Genitive sing. of koira, dog.

[320] Adessive plur. of konkka-luu, compound noun.

[321] Part. plur. of joki, various.

[322] = on.

[323] Part. plur. of hako, v. 317.

[324] = vedä, 2nd pers. sing. imperat. of vetää, to draw.

[325] Adessive (p. 152) sing. of miekka, sword.

[326] 2nd sing. imperf. of katkaista, to break or sever, stem katkaise.

[327] Nominative sing. a fish, direct object of katkaise (p. 128).

[328] = kahdeksi, trans. of kaksi, two (for case, v. p. 158).

[329] Nominative sing. adj. merry.

[330] Adj. formed from stem vere, blood, with suffix va (p. 48), vigorous or youthful.

[331] Ablative sing. of vyö, a girdle, with affix of 3rd pers.

[332] Acc. sing. of compound subst. with first member (luu, bone) in gen. and second noun of agency, formed from purra, to bite.

[333] Ablative sing. of puoli, side, with affix of 3rd pers.

[334] Part. sing. of meryt (stem merye), dimin. of meri, sea.

[335] Preposition governing laian, though generally a postposition.

[336] 3rd sing. pres. of laskettaa (trans. form of laskea), to smite.

[337] 3rd sing. imperf. of vierähtää, deriv. verb (p. 112) from vierrä, to roll down.

[338] Instr. plur. of koura, palm of the hand.

[339] 3rd pers. imperf. of kohahtaa, onomatopoeic verb representing noise of bubbling water.

[340] Elative sing. of se, used adverbially, then.

[341] seppo or seppä, nominative sing. a smith.

[342] The magic smith of Kalevala and forger of the Sampo; after many trials he married the maiden of Pohja (xix.), and the marriage is described in xx-xxv., but in xxxiii. she is killed. Ilmarinen then forged himself a wife of gold and silver (xxxvii.), who did not prove entirely satisfactory in all respects.

[343] 3rd sing. imperf. of tarttua, to stick or cling to.

[344] Illative sing. of tukka, hair.

[345] Part. sing. of uros, used as genitive. This use (which is hardly found in prose) is chiefly used of things which form part of something else.

[346] 3rd sing. of nostaltaa, deriv. verb from nostaa, to raise.

[347] Nominative sing. all (p. 170).

[348] 2nd part. passive of kyhätä, to form; this word and pantu are followed by translatives to indicate the end for which a thing is made (p. 159).

[349] Trans. sing. of lisä, an addition.

[350] Allative sing. of sataluku, hundred number (luvulle is now the usual orthography, p. 14).

[351] Allative sing. of tuhat (stem tuhante), a thousand.

[352] Trans. sing. of täyte (stem täyttehe), a complement or supplement (täysi, full).

[353] Elative sing. of tuppi, sheath, with affix of 3rd person.

[354] Accusative sing. of tuima, fierce.

[355] Adessive (p. 152) of joka, here used in sense and with it.

[356] = kolhaisti or kolkkaisti, 3rd sing. imperf. of kalhaista, to strike or split.

[357] 3rd sing. imperf. of läimähyttää (deriv. of läimätä), to smite.

[358] Trans. sing. of murska, a fragment (p. 158). N.B. The word is not in the plural and is almost adverbial, piecemeal.

[359] 3rd sing. imperf. of mureta, to break (stem murene, p. 94 F and 107).

[360] = tietänyt (p. 226, ix), 2nd part. act. of tietää, to perceive or know, with adv. affix kana.

[361] v. p. 141, vii.

[362] Part. sing. of puoli, half (p. 34); for use of part. v. p. 122.

[363] Part. sing. of kolmannes (stem -ekse), a third part.

[364] Adv. when, used with kun to mean as soon as.

[365] Nominative sing. (stem tarpehe), need.

[366] = vaaditaan, passive of vaatia, to demand.

[367] Adv. then.

[368] Inessive sing. of melkeä, moderate (? Russian мелкій); for use of inessive v. p. 140, iii. The expression seems ironical, is in a very moderate state.

[369] Nominative sing. business, duty, capacity; cf. for use here ei ole hänellä tointa.

[370] Adessive of toisia, another place; cf. muualla, and our expression to be all abroad.

[371] 3rd sing. imperf. of vedältää, deriv. verb from vetää.

[372] 3rd sing. imperf. of työntää, to thrust or smite.

[373] 3rd sing. imperf. of langetella, deriv. verb from langettaa, which is the causative form of langeta, to fall.

[374] Compound of kala, fish, and hauki, pike. The usual form would be haukikala (cf. valaskala, a whale).

[375] 3rd sing. imperf. reflexive (p. 227) of luottaa, to send through or drive, a factitive form from luoda, one of whose meanings is to cast (v. No. 496).

[376] Illative sing. of luja, firm.

[377] Illative plur. of kitanen (stem -se, diminutive of kita), the gills of a fish.

[378] 3rd sing. imperf. reflex. of kiinnittää, to fix, derived from kiinni.

[379] 3rd sing. imperf. of katketa, to break or fall asunder; cf. 326.

[380] = pyrstö, nominative sing. a tail.

[381] Illative sing. of pohja, bottom or shore.

[382] 3rd sing. imperf. of pudota (like luvata), to fall.

[383] 3rd sing. imperf. of kavahtaa, to leap forth or fall.

[384] Illative sing. of karvas (cf. oas, p. 40), a small boat.

[385] 3rd sing. imperf. of ottaa, here used intransitively, to start or begin.

[386] 1st sing. of stem juokse (cf. syökse, p. 107), to run or speed.

[387] Elative sing. of puutos, a hindrance (puuttaa, to hold or fasten).

[388] 3rd sing. imperf. act. of luottaa, v. 375.

[389] Allative sing. of luotonen, dimin. of luoto, island or shore.

[390] 3rd sing. imperf. of ravahuttaa, fact. form of ravahtaa, which is itself a deriv. of ravata, to move quickly; cf. ravakka, quick.

[391] Illative sing. of rantanen, dimin. of ranta, shore.

[392] Part. sing. (p. 127) of pääpala, compound of pää, head, and pala, a piece.

[393] Int. pron. (p. 60).

[394] Elative plur. of sulho, a young man; for use of case, v. p. 143, viii.

[395] Illative of 3rd infin. of halkoa (halki), to cleave. The verb on which the infinitive depends is omitted, but some such words as ‘let him come’ must be understood.

[396] Instr. plur. of vipla (or viipale), a strip. For the nom. hauki, v. p. 128, iii (2).

[397] Illative of 3rd infin. of viiltää (fact. of viillä), to split open.

[398] Illative 3rd infin. of pahkoa, to cleave.

[399] 3rd plur. pres. of puhua, to speak (original meaning to blow).

[400] Ablative plur. of laitanen (stem -se), dimin. of laita, shore.

[401] Genitive of saaja, noun of agency, from saada, to take (p. 45).

[402] Nominative plur. of sulin, superlative of sula, flowing, active, or dexterous.

[403] Genitive sing. of pyytäjä from pyytää, to catch; cf. No. 401.

[404] Nominative plur. of pyhin, superl. of pyhä, holy.

[405] Accusative sing. of veitsi, knife.

[406] Elative sing. of huotra, a sheath, with affix of 3rd person.

[407] Ablative sing. of kylki, side, with affix of 3rd person.

[408] Accusative sing. of kylmä, cold.

[409] 3rd sing. pres. of halkaista (halki), to split.

[410] 3rd sing. pres. of No. 398.

[411] Nominative sing. superl. of nuori, young.

[412] Elative plur. of neitonen (stem -se), dimin. of neito, woman.

[413] Illative of 3rd infin. of keittää, to cook; v. No. 395.

[414] Trans. plur. (p. 158) of murkinainen, adj. of murkina, the midday meal.

[415] Trans. plur. of muru, fragment.

[416] Trans. plur. of kalainen, adj. formed from kala, fish.

[417] Trans. plur. of lounas, midday meal.

[418] Instr. sing. of kilpa, strife or rivalry.

[419] kymmen, ten, with affix ki.

[420] Pres. passive of keittää.

[421] = murkinoidaan, pres. passive of murkinoita from murkina, breakfast.

[422] Essive plur. from muru, a bit.

[423] 3rd sing. imperf. of jäädä, to remain, with affix pä, followed by allative (p. 156).

[424] Part. plur. of luu, bone.

[425] Allative of kallio, rock.

[426] Elat. sing. of pron. tuo, with suffix ki.

[427] Elat. plur. of same.

[428] Elative plur. (p. 143, ix) of hammas (stem hampaha), tooth.

[429] Elative of leveä, broad.

[430] Elative of leuka-luu, jaw-bone.

[431] Inessive of paja, a smithy.

[432] Essive of luo (p. 210), here prepos. with genitive.

[433] Genitive of 1st part. act. of taitaa, to be able or skilful.

[434] Genitive of takoja, forger, from takoa, to forge.

[435] Genitive of mahtava, powerful.

[436] Elative of tyhjä, void or emptiness.

[437] = mitään, v. p. 219 and 122.

[438] Elative sing. of ruotta, mouth (of a fish); ruota or ruoto is the usual form.

[439] Part. sing. of kalu, an instrument (p. 122).

[440] Dimin. of kantelo = kantele, a kind of harp with five strings.

[441] = osaajaa, part. of osaaja, noun of agency, from osata, to know or be skilful.

[442] Genitive sing. of soitto, a musical instrument.

[443] Part. of laatija, noun of agency from laatia, to make. The part. is used because the sentence is practically negative.

[444] 3rd sing. imperf. reflex. of luoda, to create or make.

[445] Translative (p. 158, iii) of tekijä, noun of agency, from tehdä, to make.

[446] 3rd sing. imperf. reflex. of teennellä, deriv. of tehdä (stem teke), to make.

[447] 3rd sing. imperf. of suorittaa (from suora), to prepare.

[448] Accusative sing. of ilo, joy.

[449] Accusative sing. of ikuinen, from ikä, life.

[450] Elative sing. of kuka, meaning here from what (p. 144, ix).

[451] Nominative sing., the body or frame (of the harp).

[452] Part. sing. of kantele (stem -lehe), harp; for use of part. v. No. 345.

[453] Genitive sing. of suuri, great.

[454] Nominatives plur. of kieli, tongue or string, and naula, a nail.

[455] Elative plur. of hivus = hius (stem hiukse), hair.

[456] = Hiiden, genitive sing. of Hiisi, the genius of evil.

[457] Genitive sing. of ruuna, poetical word for a horse.

[458] Essive sing. of 2nd part. passive (= suoritettuna) of suorittaa.

[459] Essive sing. of valmis, ready (stem valmihi).

[460] Compound word; first member in genitive, second adj. formed from evä, a fin.

FINNISH POPULAR SONG.

Hyvästi[461] kultaseni[462], hyvästi kultani,

Mun[86] lähteä[1] nyt[463] täytyy[464] pois[465] kotimaaltan[466].

Mun[86] täytyvi[464] nyt[463] mennä[294] merille[295] kulkemaan[240]!

Ja sinua en tieä[466a] jos[102] näen[466b] millonkaan[467].

Lahella[468] laiva[469] pieni[470] minua outtelee[471]; 5

Se mulla[472] kotimaani[466] ja tuttavani[473] lie[285].

Se kotimaani[466] mulla[472] ja tuuli[474] kultani[462],

Ja aalto[99] armnhani[475] tahikka[476] surmani[60].

Jo[12] ennen[477] monta[478] miestä[164] se meri[295] petteli[479],

Ja monen[478] kullan[462] silmät[480] vesille[481] jätteli[482]. 10

Vaan[483] ellös[484] mua[472] surko[484], jos[102] ehkä[485] kuolisin[486];

Sä[487] suotta[488] kaottaisit[489] ikäsi[490] kaunihin[491].

Kun[50] kuulet[492] kuolleheksi[493], tee[494] risti[495] rantahan[391],

Ja aallon[99] luomat[496] luuni[497] ne peitä[498] santahan[499].

Ja ota[385] pieni[470] ruusu[500] ja laita[156] kasvamaan[501], 15

Käy[7] sitte[502] kesäilloin[503] välistä[504] katsomaan[193].

Kun[71] ruusu[500] kaunihisti[491] kesällä[503] kukostaa[505],

Se rakkauteni[506] kuvan[507] eteesi[508] muovostaa[509].

Hyvästi[461] vielä[107] kerta[108], hyvästi ystävä[510]!

Ei[512] suremaan[511] nyt[463] auta[512], vaan[483] täytyy[404] lähteä. 20

Farewell, dear love, farewell, my love,

Now must I set forth from home.

Now I must go to wander on the seas

And know not if I shall ever see thee.

A little ship awaits me in the bay: 5

It will be my home and friend.

It will be my home and the wind my love,

And the wave my darling or my death.

That sea has lured many men ere now,

And filled many a lover’s eyes with tears. 10

But grieve not for me, if perchance I die:

Thou wouldst waste thy fair life in vain.

If thou hearest I am dead, place a cross on the shore,

And my bones cast up by the wave, hide them in the sand.

And take a little rose and set it to grow, 15

Then go sometimes on summer evenings to look at it.

When the rose flowers gaily in the summer

It will form a picture of my love for thee.

Farewell once more, farewell, friend,

It is no good grieving: I must start. 20

[461] Adv. of hyvä, good (p. 117), used to mean good-bye.

[462] Dimin. of kulta, gold or darling, with affix of 1st person.

[463] Adv. now.

[464] Impers. verb it is necessary, followed by 1st infin. (p. 187); täytyy and täytyvi are identical (p. 226, viii).

[465] Adv. away, also used in inessive poissa.

[466] Compound of koti, home, and maa, land; v. No. 65.

[466a] = tiedä, negative form of tietää, to know.

[466b] 1st pers. sing. of nähdä (p. 108).

[467] = milloinkaan (v. pp. 117, 169).

[468] = lahdella, adessive sing. of lahti, bay.

[469] Nominative sing. a ship.

[470] Nominative sing. little.

[471] = odottelee, 3rd sing. pres. of odotella, deriv. from odottaa, to wait.

[472] = minulla; cf. mua = minua.

[473] 1st part. passive for tunnettava, from tuntea, to know. Here used as substantive with affix of 1st pers., friend.

[474] Nominative sing. wind.

[475] Nominative with suffix of 1st pers. from stem armaha (nom. armas), dear.

[476] = taikka, or.

[477] Adv. (gen. of ensi), before.

[478] Part. sing. of moni, many, taking a partitive after it (p. 171, iv.).

[479] 3rd sing. imperf. of petellä, deriv. verb from pettää, to deceive.

[480] Accusative plur. of silmä, eye.

[481] Allative plur. of vesi, water.

[482] 3rd sing. imperf. of jätellä, derived from jättää. For the use of this verb with the illative or allative, v. p. 156. The sentence means literally has abandoned the eyes of many a lover to waters; i.e. has filled with tears.

[483] Conj. but.

[484] 2nd sing. negative opt. of surra (like tulla).

[485] Adv. perhaps.

[486] 1st sing. conditional of kuolla, to die (like tulla).

[487] = sinä.

[488] Part. sing. of suosi, pleasure (not used); used adverbially to mean for mere pleasure, without serious cause; hence in vain, uselessly.

[489] 2nd sing. conditional of kadottaa, to loose, trans. form of kadota, to fall.

[490] Accusative sing. of ikä, life, with suffix of 2nd pers. N.B. k is not weakened.

[491] Accusative sing. of kaunis, beautiful, stem kaunihi; the adv. is used in l. 17.

[492] 2nd sing. pres. of kuulla (like tulla), to hear.

[493] Translative sing. of 2nd part. act. of kuolla (v. 486). For use v. p. 201.

[494] 2nd sing. imperf. of tehdä, followed by illative; v. p. 156 ad. in.

[495] Nominative sing. cross, obj. of tee (p. 128, iii).

[496] Accusative plur. of 3rd infin. of luoda, used as a past part. (p. 191). For luoda, meaning to cast, v. No. 375.

[497] Accusative plur. of luu, bone, with affix of 1st pers. sing.

[498] 2nd sing. imperf. of peittää, to hide.

[499] Illative sing. (p. 156) of santa, sand.

[500] Nom. sing. rose, object of ota (p. 128).

[501] Illative of 3rd infin. of kasvaa, to grow (p. 192).

[502] Adv. then (p. 117).

[503] Compound of kesä, summer, and ilta, evening, instr. plur. (p. 161, iii).

[504] Elative sing. of väli, interval; here adverbial, now and then.

[505] 3rd sing. pres. of kukostaa, to flower, from kukka, a flower (p. 114).

[506] Genitive sing. with affix of 1st pers.; from rakkaus (stem rakkaute), love.

[507] Accusative sing. of kuva, picture.

[508] Illative sing. of esi, with affix of 2nd pers. (p. 146).

[509] = muodostaa, v being a dialectical variant for d; 3rd sing. pres. (with future signif.) of muodostaa, deriv. verb from muoto, form.

[510] Nominative sing. (p. 134, v), friend; Lönnrot suggests it is for ysättävä, derived from yskä, bosom.

[511] Illative of 3rd infin.; cf. No. 484.

[512] Negative pres. of auttaa, to help or avail.

FOOTNOTES

[1] This applies not only to case or personal suffixes, but to any formative element.

[2] Kalevala. 3 painos. 1887. Johdanto. p. XV.

[3] The following sketch of Esthonian is taken mainly from Wiedemann’s ‘Grammatik der Estnischen Sprache.’ Petersburg, 1875.

[4] Donner’s ‘Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Finnish-Ugrischen Sprachen’ also contains many comparisons with Samoyede.

[5] But suola, salt, and puola, bilberry, change the final a into o to distinguish them from suoli, an intestine, and puoli, half.

[6] It is noticeable that this rule does not apply in the rare case of a monosyllabic root ending in a short open vowel becoming closed. Ku, the root of the pronoun kuka, forms kun not gun.

[7] In the Kalevala dialect t always disappears instead of becoming d, and some traces of this remain in ordinary Finnish, (a) In the declensions of such roots as lyhyte, short: gen. lyhyen, and in some contracted substantives. (b) In the loss of t in the syllable ta used to form infinitives and partitives.

[8] In the Bible and old Finnish are found such forms as kaksitoistakymmentä.

[9] This suffix frequently loses its vowel and becomes simple s.

[10] The closing of the root and omission or weakening of t in the first and second forms of the infinitive is no doubt due to the extremely frequent use of the forms with suffixes. Thus saadakseni from saata is grammatically correct, as is also lukeakseni from luketa, according to the euphonic rules of the Kalevala or Old Karelian dialect. Such forms as saada are probably not nominatives, but shortened translatives.

[11] The first infinitive is occasionally found in the Bible, e.g. Psalm xliv. 12 Sinä annat meitä syötää niinkuin lampaita.

[12] The participle is nousnut or noussut.

[13] These forms are ably discussed by Mr. Setälä, in vol. II of the Journal de la Société Finne-Ugrienne, p. 29 ff. He endeavours to prove [and it seems to me with success] that k is a suffix of the present tense, and se a pronominal affix.

[14] Cf. kaikkialla, toisialla, kuusialla. Some consider these forms as compounds of the pronominal stem with the word ala, so that muualla stands for muu + ala + lla.

[15] It is noticeable that peasants frequently use the passive with the pronoun of the first person plural, as if it were a personal form. Jokohan mekin tuo lehmä myötäisiin? Shall we not sell this cow too?

[16] Analogy has no doubt played a great part in the development of these constructions, but they clearly have their origin in the use of the participle as a substantive, just like the infinitive. Compare Minä toivon saada rahoja with Minä luulen saavani rahoja and Miehet nayttävät tulevan with Miehet taitavat tulla. Compare such Turkish constructions as ‎‏كلديكمى بلدكز‏‎ geldiyimi bildiniz, you knew I had come.

[17] Vasiten or vaseten occurs in dialects.

[18] I should say that in this account I am deeply indebted to the Finnish introduction to the edition of the Kalevala, published in 1887 at Helsingfors.

[19] The word seems to imply low-lying marshy places.

[20] This is apparently a reference to some kind of costume in which a corpse was dressed.

[21] This passage seems a little confused. Wäinämöinen was building a boat by means of magic spells, of whose efficacy so much is said in the Kalevala. During this process he lost (apparently forgot) three words which were necessary. The language in 350 ff. is metaphorical: the sledge of his song was broken, i.e. the spells did not run smoothly.

[22] It would seem that this is not the same personage as the ‘dwarfish daughter of Tuoni’ (also called Tuonetar in 263). But who this new character is, is not explained.

[23] This rather obscure remark appears to be a taunt. ‘Every body is a man, in the sense of adding to the male population. But one wants a good deal more to really deserve the name.’

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Table of Contents

A FINNISH GRAMMAR.

Of the Formation of Syllables and Words.

CHANGES OF SOUNDS.

A. Changes of Vowels.

I. The Long Vowels and Diphthongs.

II. Short Vowels.

B. Changes of Consonants.

The Softening of the Hard Consonants K, T, P.

OTHER CHANGES OF CONSONANTS.

Contraction.

NOUNS.

Declension.

The First Declension.

The Second Declension.

The Third Declension.

Compound Nouns.

THE ADJECTIVE.

FORMATION OF SUBSTANTIVES AND ADJECTIVES.

SUBSTANTIVES.

ADJECTIVAL TERMINATIONS.

THE NUMERALS.

PRONOUNS.

Possessive Pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns.

Interrogative Pronouns.

Relative Pronouns.

Indefinite Pronouns.

Reflexive Pronoun.

THE VERB.

Formation of the Moods and Tenses of an Affirmative Verb.

The Passive.

The Negative Conjugation.

The Auxiliary Verb.

First Conjugation.

Second Conjugation.

Third Conjugation.

Examples.

Reflexive Verbs.

The Formation of Verbs.

POSTPOSITIONS.

THE ADVERB.

CONJUNCTIONS.

INTERJECTIONS.

SYNTAX.

The Subject.

The Predicate.

The Object.

Of the Agreement of Substantives and Adjectives with one another.

The Article.

THE USE OF THE CASES.

Nominative.

The Partitive Case.

Accusative.

Genitive.

The Internal Cases—Inessive, Elative, and Illative.

Inessive.

Elative.

Illative.

The External Cases—Adessive, Ablative, and Allative.

Adessive.

Ablative.

Allative.

Abessive.

Essive.

Translative.

Comitative.

Instructive.

Prolative.

THE ADJECTIVE.

PRONOUNS.

Personal Pronouns.

Possessive Pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns.

Interrogative Pronouns.

Relative Pronouns.

Indefinite Pronouns.

Various Pronominal Adjectives.

NUMBERS.

Expression of a date.

THE VERB.

The Concessive.

The Conditional.

Imperative and Optative.

The Passive.

Infinitives.

Infinitive I.

Infinitive II.

Infinitive III.

Infinitive IV.

Infinitive V.

Participles.

Participle I—Active.

Participle II—Active.

Participle I—Passive.

Participle II—Passive.

Use of Participles in Oblique Oration.

PREPOSITIONS, POSTPOSITIONS, AND ADVERBS.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES.

OTHER SENTENCES.

ORATIO OBLIQUA.

ON THE DIALECT OF THE KALEVALA.

SELECTIONS FROM FINNISH LITERATURE

PYHÄN JOHANNEKSEN EVANGELIUMI.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN, I. 1-14.

KALEVALA, XXXVI. 319-346.

KALEVALA, XVI. 151 ff.

KALEVALA XL. 113 ff.

FINNISH POPULAR SONG.

FOOTNOTES

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