Finnish Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Finnish grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Finnish and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Finnish and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Finnish.
| Prepositions | Finnish |
|---|---|
| and | ja  |
| above | yllä |
| under | alle |
| before | ennen |
| after | jälkeen |
| in front of | edessä |
| behind | takana |
| far from | kaukana |
| near | lähellä |
| in | - ssa; -ssä |
| inside | sisällä |
| outside | ulkona |
| with | kanssa |
| without | ilman |
| about | noin |
| between | välillä |
| but | mutta |
| for | varten |
| from | alkaen |
| to | -aan, -ään |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Finnish |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | syön ilman veistä |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | hän asuu lähellä kirkkoa |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | hän on pidempi kuin hän |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | hän tuli pienen koiransa kanssa |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | voitko tulla kanssani? |
Negation in Finnish
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Finnish |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | ymmärrän sinua |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | en ymmärrä sinua |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | tämä ei ole oikea sana |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | älä jätä minua |
| no problem [negation + noun] | ei ongelmaa |
| Negative Sentences | Finnish |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | en puhu ranskaa |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | hän ei käynyt saksassa |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | hän ei voi nähdä meitä |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | eikö hän osaa pelata shakkia? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | me emme tule myöhässä |
Questions in Finnish
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Finnish |
|---|---|
| how? | miten? |
| what? | mitä? |
| who? | kuka? |
| why? | miksi? |
| where? | missä? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Finnish |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | missä asut? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | puhuuko hän kiinaa? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | kuinka paljon tämä on? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | voinko auttaa? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | mikä on nimesi? |
Adverbs in Finnish
It's time to learn the adverbs in Finnish. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs | Finnish |
|---|---|
| now | nyt |
| yesterday | eilen |
| today | tänään |
| tonight | tänä iltana |
| tomorrow | huomenna |
| soon | pian |
| quickly | nopeasti |
| slowly | hitaasti |
| together | yhdessä |
| very | oikein/hyvin |
| almost | melkein |
| always | aina |
| usually | yleensä |
| sometimes | joskus |
| rarely | harvoin |
| never | ei koskaan |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Finnish |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | ymmärrätkö nyt? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | tarvitsen apua välittömästi |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | hän on erittäin älykäs |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | tulen aina rakastamaan sinua |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | voimmeko opiskella yhdessä saksaa? |
Pronouns in Finnish
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Finnish. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| I | minä |
| you | sinä, te |
| he | hän |
| she | hän |
| we | me |
| they | he |
| Object Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| me | minut/minua |
| you | sinut, teidät/sinua, teitä |
| him | hänet/häntä |
| her | hänet/häntä |
| us | meidät/meitä |
| them | heidät/heitä |
| Possessive Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| my | minun |
| your | sinun, teidän |
| his | hänen |
| her | hänen |
| our | meidän |
| their | heidän |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | olen ystäväsi |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | puhutte hyvin nopeasti |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | hänellä on kolme koiraa |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | hän osaa puhua saksaa |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | me emme tule myöhään |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | he ostivat maitoa ja leipää |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | voitko kertoa minulle nimesi? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | annan rahaa |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | hän kirjoitti hänelle kirjeen |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | he kävivät hänellä eilen |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | voiko hän auttaa meitä? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | hän antoi heille ruokaa |
| Possessive Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | nimeni on maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | veljesi asuu täällä |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | äiti laittaa meille ruokaa |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | hänen harrastuksensa on kirjojen lukeminen |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | unelmamme on käydä pariisissa |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | heidän talonsa ei ole kaukana |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Finnish |
|---|---|
| this is my house | tämä on minun taloni |
| that restaurant is far | tuo ravintola on kaukana |
| these apples are delicious | nämä omenat ovat herkullisia |
| those stars are shiny | nuo tähdet hohtavat |
I hope you learned a lot about the Finnish grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Finnish Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |