A1 Finnish GrammarBasic Adjectives
Describe people, places, and things with common Finnish adjectives. Learn how adjectives agree with nouns in number and case. Finnish adjectives come before nouns and must match the noun's grammatical form.
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