🇫🇮A1 Finnish GrammarBasic Adjectives
1Common Adjectives
Finnish adjectives describe qualities of nouns. Common adjectives include: suuri/iso (big), pieni (small), hyvä (good), huono (bad), kaunis (beautiful), ruma (ugly), vanha (old), uusi (new). Adjectives come before the noun they describe.
Basic Adjectives
| Finnish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| suuri/iso | big | iso talo (big house) |
| pieni | small | pieni koira (small dog) |
| hyvä | good | hyvä ruoka (good food) |
| huono | bad | huono sää (bad weather) |
Examples
Tämä on iso talo.
This is a big house.
iso = big (colloquial)
Minulla on pieni koira.
I have a small dog.
pieni = small
Ruoka on hyvää.
The food is good.
hyvää = good (partitive)
Sää on huono tänään.
The weather is bad today.
huono = bad
2Adjective Agreement: Number
Finnish adjectives must agree with their nouns in number. When the noun is plural, the adjective also takes the plural form. For nominative plural, adjectives add -t just like nouns. This agreement is essential in Finnish grammar.
Singular vs. Plural Adjectives
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| iso talo | isot talot | big house(s) |
| pieni lapsi | pienet lapset | small child(ren) |
| kaunis kukka | kauniit kukat | beautiful flower(s) |
| vanha mies | vanhat miehet | old man/men |
Examples
Isot talot ovat kalliita.
Big houses are expensive.
isot (pl.) + talot (pl.)
Pienet lapset leikkivät.
Small children are playing.
pienet (pl.) + lapset (pl.)
Kauniit kukat tuoksuvat hyvälle.
Beautiful flowers smell nice.
kauniit (pl.) agrees with kukat
Vanhat autot ovat harvinaisia.
Old cars are rare.
vanhat (pl.) + autot (pl.)
3Adjective Agreement: Case
Adjectives also agree with nouns in case. When a noun takes a case ending (like partitive or inessive), the adjective takes the same case. This double marking of case on both adjective and noun is typical of Finnish.
Adjective Case Agreement
| Case | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | iso talo | big house (subject) |
| partitive | isoa taloa | big house (object) |
| inessive | isossa talossa | in a big house |
| genitive | ison talon | of a big house |
Examples
Asun isossa talossa.
I live in a big house.
isossa talossa (both inessive)
Näen kauniin naisen.
I see a beautiful woman.
kauniin naisen (both genitive)
Ostan uuden auton.
I buy a new car.
uuden auton (both genitive)
Pidän pienistä koirista.
I like small dogs.
pienistä koirista (both elative pl.)
4Predicate Adjectives
When an adjective comes after 'olla' (to be) as a predicate, it often takes partitive case if describing something uncountable or general. Singular subjects with countable nouns use nominative. This is a key pattern to learn.
Predicate Adjective Forms
| Subject | Adjective Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| countable singular | nominative | Talo on iso. | The house is big. |
| uncountable | partitive | Ruoka on hyvää. | The food is good. |
| plural subject | partitive | Talot ovat isoja. | The houses are big. |
| abstract | partitive | Se on vaikeaa. | It is difficult. |
Examples
Kahvi on kuumaa.
The coffee is hot.
kuumaa (partitive) - uncountable
Kirja on mielenkiintoinen.
The book is interesting.
nominative - countable singular
Lapset ovat iloisia.
The children are happy.
iloisia (partitive pl.) - plural subject
Suomi on kaunista.
Finland is beautiful.
kaunista (partitive) - general statement
Practice
Get 2 of 3 right to learn this lesson
How do you say 'big house' in Finnish?
What is the plural of 'iso talo' (big house)?
Complete: 'Ruoka on ___.' (The food is good.)
See Real Examples in Stories
Now that you've practiced, see this grammar in context
