Types of nominals

Here's a typology which should help you when you declinate nominals (~add endings ~change the case of the word). Most of the time adding endings is straight forward: the basic form is also the stem of the word and you just add the endings after the word.

Sometimes there are some changes in the stem when you add the endings, and there are different changes in each case: a word may have different stems according to what kind of ending follows. The most common changes are the consonant gradation, changing the last vowel or adding and extra vowel when the word ends with a consontant.

Words ending with vowel (exept i and e)

"Talo" type

• The last vowel does not change.
• The partitive ending is -a/-ä
• Can have consonant gradation. Genitive is usually in weak grade, and partitive in strong grade.
• In plural, the last a/ä may change to o or drop

Some exceptions

Words ending with 2 vowels:

• Partitive: vapaa : vapaata
• Illative: vapaa: vapaaseen

Words ending with i

Words ending with i are a bit irregular, mainly because the plural ending is also i. Quite many of these are actually loan words.

"Pankki" type

The "Pankki" type is almost like the "talo" type, except in plural the existing i becomes e.

• The last vowel does not change in singular.
• The partitive ending is a/ä
• Can have consonant gradation. Genitive is usually in weak grade, and partitive in strong grade.
• in plural i -> e

"Lehti" type

• in singular: last i -> e
• Can have consonant gradation. Genitive is usually in weak grade, and partitive in strong grade.
• in plural: the last i disappears

"Kieli" type

• like the earlier, except:
• in partitive: the last i disappears (kieli:kieltä)

"Vesi" type

A strange and small group where s, d and t alterate.

• Partitive: vesi: vettä with double t

Words ending with e

"Huone" type

• singular: the last e -> ee
• plural: the last e -> ei
• the partitive ending is -tta/ttä
• Can have consonant gradation. The nominative is usually in weak grade, and genitive in strong grade.

Short words ending with 2 vowels

Words ending with a consonant

It's more "normal", that Finnish words end with a vowel. Because most of the endings start with a consonant, it's easier to add endings after vowels to avoid clusters of consonants. Most of the changes in these types of words happen because Finnish language tries to switch a vowel in the end of the of the inflectional stem.

"Nainen" type

• nen-> se
• partitive ending is -ta, nen-> s
• in plural e disappears
• doesn't have consonant gradation

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