A1 Finnish GrammarPersonal Pronouns
Master Finnish personal pronouns minä, sinä, hän and understand how verb endings often replace pronouns in casual speech.
1Subject Pronouns
Finnish pronouns. In speech, 'minä' becomes 'mä', 'sinä' becomes 'sä'. Pronouns can be dropped.
Personal Pronouns
| Finnish | Spoken | English |
|---|---|---|
| minä | mä | I |
| sinä | sä | you (singular) |
| hän | hän | he/she |
| me | me | we |
| te | te | you (plural/formal) |
| he | ne | they |
Examples
Minä olen opiskelija.
I am a student.
formal/written
Mä oon opiskelija.
I'm a student.
spoken Finnish
Hän puhuu suomea.
He/She speaks Finnish.
hän for both genders
Me asumme Helsingissä.
We live in Helsinki.
me = we
2Dropping Pronouns
Pronouns can often be dropped because verb endings show the person.
With vs Without Pronoun
| With pronoun | Without | English |
|---|---|---|
| Minä puhun | Puhun | I speak |
| Sinä puhut | Puhut | You speak |
| Me puhumme | Puhumme | We speak |
Examples
Puhun suomea.
I speak Finnish.
-n ending = I
Asut Suomessa.
You live in Finland.
-t ending = you
Olemme valmiita.
We are ready.
-mme ending = we
Tuletko huomenna?
Are you coming tomorrow?
question form
3Object Pronouns
Object forms of pronouns use genitive/partitive/accusative cases.
Object Forms
| Subject | Object (genitive) | Object (partitive) |
|---|---|---|
| minä | minut | minua |
| sinä | sinut | sinua |
| hän | hänet | häntä |
| me | meidät | meitä |
Examples
Rakastan sinua.
I love you.
sinua (partitive)
Hän näkee minut.
He/She sees me.
minut (accusative)
Autan häntä.
I help him/her.
häntä (partitive)
Hän kutsui meidät.
He/She invited us.
meidät (accusative)
4Formal Te
'Te' can be singular formal (like French 'vous'). Used with older people and in service contexts.
Te Usage
| Context | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Formal singular | Te | Te olette tervetullut |
| Plural | Te | Te olette valmiita |
| Informal singular | Sinä | Sinä olet tervetullut |
Examples
Mitä Te haluatte?
What would you like? (formal)
formal service
Oletteko Te Suomesta?
Are you from Finland? (formal)
polite question
Voitteko Te auttaa?
Can you help? (formal)
formal request
Tervetuloa, mitä saisi olla?
Welcome, what can I get you?
service context