Genetiivi - Genitive
Site: | Aalto OpenLearning |
Course: | Suomen verkkokielioppi - Finnish Online Grammar |
Book: | Genetiivi - Genitive |
Printed by: | Guest user |
Date: | Thursday, 21 November 2024, 11:17 PM |
3. Summary
Genitive
Pasi - Pasin
Pasi - Pasi’s
Janet - Janetin
The use of the genitive form
1. The genitive form is used in Finnish to express ownership and possession.
Axel's car
Annan kirja
Anna's book
2. The genitive is used as an attribute.
Italian pääkaupunki
the capital city of Italy
Helsingin yliopisto
University of Helsinki
Notice, that a genitive attribute is always in genitive form regardless the main word's form:
Minä opiskelen Helsingin yliopistossa. I study at the University of Helsinki.
Minä asun Helsingin keskustassa, I live in the center of Helsinki.
3. The genitive form is used together with postpositions.
Indo-European languages use
mainly prepositions but Finnish favors postpositions (comp. with a friend = ystävän kanssa, under the chair = tuolin alla).
Genitive (–n form) is often used together with postpositions such as kanssa ‘with’, edessä ‘in front of’, takana ‘behind’, vieressä 'next to' alla 'under', päällä 'on the top of' etc.
Genitive + kanssa describes association between the words and genitive
+ edessä, takana etc. indicates location.
4. Special use of the genitive case occurs with täytyy must / have to.
The subject is marked with the -n and the verb täytyy is in the same form regardless of the person.
I must go now.
You must stay home.
Sanna must live in Helsinki.
We must speak Finnish.
Teidän täytyy mennä kotiin.
You must go home now.
Heidän täytyy tulla taksilla.
They must come by a taxi.