The Focus of this Lesson is a Review of the Nominative, Partitive, and Genitive Cases.
Minä olen Petri Lahtinen. Minulla oli onnea, kun sain paikan.
"I'm Petri Lahtinen. I was lucky to get the job."

In this lesson, we review the basic use of the nominative, partitive, and genitive cases. They are the key to understanding Finnish since, unlike in English, the grammatical relationships between words are not tied to word order. Word order is relatively free in Finnish, and it is the case endings that show which word is the subject of the sentence and which is the object or complement. Let's look at each case in turn.

The Nominative Case

The nominative case is the dictionary form of a noun, adjective, numeral, or pronoun. It is often the case of the subject of a sentence. It indicates an entirety of some kind, as opposed to the partitive, which expresses a part of something. In A on B ("A is B") type sentences, B is in the nominative case when the subject is a specified, definite entity. In certain kinds of sentences (such as sentences with an unspecified human actor, also known as the Finnish "passive") there is no explicit subject, and then the object of the sentence may be in the nominative case.

For example:

1. Kalle on poika.
   "Kalle is a boy."
2. Omena on kylmä.
   "The apple is cold."
3. Maito kaatui pöydälle.
   "(All) the milk was spilled on the table."
4. Pojat pelaavat jalkapalloa.
   "The boys play soccer."
5. Poliisi ottaa varkaan kiinni.
   "The police will catch the thief."
6. Varas otetaan kiinni.
   "The thief will be caught."

Examples from the dialogue:

1. Minä olen Petri Lahtinen.
   "I'm Petri Lahtinen."
2. Olen ohjelmoija.
   "I'm a programmer."

The Partitive Case

The partitive case indicates a part or an unspecified amount or number of something. The object is in the partitive case when the action only affects part of the object or is ongoing or habitual. In A on B type sentences, B is in the partitive when it's an adjective modifying a mass noun. Also the subject can be in the partitive if it's indefinite or unspecified. The partitive is used in negative sentences and questions. The partitive ending is -a/-ä or -ta/-tä, depending on the last letters of the word.

For example:

1. Maija söi omenaa."
   Maija ate some apple."
2. Maito on kylmää.
   "The milk is cold."
3. Pojat pelaavat jalkapalloa.
   "The boys play soccer."
4. Maitoa kaatui pöydälle.
   "Some milk was spilled on the table." (Literally: "Some milk fell on the table.")
5. Maalari maalasi taloa.
   "The painter was painting a house."
6. Oletko nähnyt Tiinaa?
   "Have you seen Tiina?"
7. En ole nähnyt Tiinaa.
   "I haven't seen Tiina."

Examples from this Dialogue:

1. Se on mielenkiintoista.
   "It's interesting."
2. Minulla oli onnea, kun sain paikan.
   "I was lucky to get the job."

The Genitive Case

The genitive case indicates either possession or (when it's the object that is in the genitive case) the fact that the action affects the entire object or that the action in complete. The genitive ending is -n.

For example:

1. Tiinan hame on sininen.
   "Tiina's skirt is blue."
2. Maija söi omenan.
   "Maija ate an (entire) apple."
3. Äiti kaatoi maitolasin.
   "Mother knocked over a glass of milk."
4. Maalari maalasi talon punaiseksi.
   "The painter painted the house red."

Examples from this dialogue:

1. Aloitan tänään uuden työn.
   "I'll start a new job today."
2. Minulla oli onnea, kun sain paikan.
   "I was lucky to get the job."

Changes in the Word Stem

One of the trickier parts of Finnish grammar for beginners is consonant gradation. It means that certain kinds of word stems change depending on what kind of an ending is attached to them. It may seem daunting at first, but you will get a feeling for it, because you see it all the time. Consonant gradation affects the last consonants of a word if there is one or more k, p, or t. One of the consonants may be dropped (kk > k, pp > p, tt > t) or they may change into other consonants (e.g. t > d, p > v, mp > mm) when a single-consonant ending or an ending that begins with two consonants is attached. Note that this happens with all words that are inflected, including nouns, numbers, and adjectives, as well as verbs. Some recent loanwords, such as auto ("car") and muki ("mug"), are not affected.

For example:

1. Tämä paikka on vapaa.
   "This seat is free."
2. Haluan hyvän paikan.
   "I want a good seat."
3. Äiti lukee kirjaa.
   "Mother is reading a book."
4. Minä luen äidin kirjaa.
   "I'm reading Mother's book."
5. Tämä muki on isompi.
   "This mug is bigger."
6. Haluan isomman mukin.
   "I want a bigger mug."

aloittaa ("to start, to begin")

The verb aloittaa is a transitive verb, so it always takes an object (although the object can be dropped from the sentence if understood from the context). So you can say Tiina aloitti uuden kirjan ("Tiina started a new book"), but you cannot say "The book started well" using this verb. For that purpose, you would need the related intransitive verb alkaa: Kirja alkoi hyvin ("The book started well").

onni ("luck, fortune, happiness")

The Finnish word onni covers both the kind of luck you may or may not have when gambling, and the kind of happiness that may come from the small things in life, such as reading a good book or going to movies with a friend.

paikka ("place, position; seat; job")

The word paikka can be used in many of the contexts where you would use "place" in English, both in a concrete and a figurative sense. It can also be used for a seat, for example in a theater: Haluan hyvän paikan ("I want a good seat"). It may also be used for a job, and in this sense you will often see the compound word työpaikka, which can mean both a "job" and a "workplace," depending on the context.

Attitudes to Work in Finland

In the past, many people worked for the same company all their lives. These days, this is very seldom the case. Young people may stay in one company for 2-4 years before moving on to another company in search of a better salary or more interesting tasks. Young people may be anxious about the requirements set by employers, but on the other hand, many young people are also very particular about what they want to do. They are very much aware of the great portion of their time they spend working, and they want work to be interesting and enjoyable. Just making money is not good enough for many. If the work turns out to be boring or meaningless, they are quick to start investigating other options. The post-World War II generations worked hard because they were expected to. Their grandchildren work hard if they like what they are doing. If they don't like it, they do just what they have to or find another job—if they can. Unemployment, though not quite as bad as in some other European countries, is a big problem.