Title: Some Grammar Concepts Explained
Course: Study PrepProg Finnish Language 1 > Section: Linkkejä ja vinkkejä

With the help of ChatGPT these terms explain some of the key grammatical terms in English.

Conjugation, to conjugate: Changing the form of a verb to express different grammatical aspects, like tense, mood, aspect, person, number, or voice.

Case: A grammatical category that indicates the function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence such as subject, object, possession. This function is often marked by inflections or word order.

Root: The basic part of a word that carries its core meaning and to which prefixes and suffixes can be added.

Example: The root kirja- is the used to form kirjoittaa (to write), kirjoittaja (writer), kirja (book), kirjasto (library).

Stem: the part of the word to which affixes (prefixes or suffixes) are added to form different word forms. In Finnish there are strong and weak stems due to the consonant (KPT) changes.

Example: ottaa (to take) – minä otan (I take) – hän ottaa (he/she takes) – minä en ota (I do not take), has a strong stem (otta-) and a weak stem (ota-).

Mood: A grammatical category that expresses the speaker's attitude towards the action or state of the verb, e.g., indicative and imperative.

Example: Sinä syöt. (You eat., indicative) and Syö! (Eat!, imperative)

Tense: A grammatical category that indicates the time of an action or state expressed by a verb (e.g., past, present, future).

Word Classes

Noun (substantiivi): A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea.

Example: talo (house), koira (dog), omena (apple).

Verb (verbi): A word that describes an action, occurrence, or state of being.

Example: juoksen (I run), näet (you see), olemme (we are).

Adjective (adjektiivi): A word that describes or modifies a noun.

Example: iso talo (big house), kaunis maisema (beautiful landscape), pienessä sininessä vanhassa autossa (in the small blue old car).

Pronoun (pronomini): A word that takes the place of a noun.

Example: minä (I), sinä (you), hän (he/she), se (it).

Preposition (prepositio): A word that shows the relationship between nouns and other words in a sentence.

Example: ilman (without), yli (over), ennen (before). Finnish uses cases often when English uses prepositions, e.g. talossa (in the house).

Conjunction (konjunktio): A word that connects words, phrases, or clauses.

Example: ja (and), mutta (but), koska (because).

Adverb (adverbi): A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Example: nopeasti (quickly), hyvin (well), kovasti (strongly).

Sentence (lause): A group of words that expresses a complete thought. Sentences start with a capital letter, and there is a punctuation mark after.

Example: Minä juoksen. (I run.), Hän syö omenaa. (He/she eats an apple.)

Auxiliary Verb (apuverbi): A verb used together with the main verb to express tense, mood, or voice.

Example: Olen mennyt. (I have gone.), Olit nukkunut. (You had slept.)

Modal Verb (modaaliapuverbi): A type of auxiliary verb expressing necessity, possibility, permission, or ability.

Example: Voin auttaa (I can help), Haluatko kahvia? (Do you want coffee?).

Singular (yksikkö) / Plural (monikko): Singular refers to a single item or person, while plural refers to more than one. In many languages and other amount than 1 is in the plural form.

Example: talo (singular - house) / talot (plural - houses), koira (singular - dog) / koirat (plural - dogs).

Phonology (Sounds)

Vowel (vokaali): A speech sound made without significant constriction of the airflow in the vocal tract.

Example: A (as in "talo"), O (as in "koira"), U (as in "kukka"). The other vowels are Ä, Ö, Y, E, I.

Consonant (konsonantti): A speech sound characterized by partial or complete closure of the vocal tract.

Example: T (as in "talo"), K (as in "koira"), N (as in "kukka").

Consonant Gradation / KPT change (astevaihtelu tai KPT-muutos): A phonological process that affects certain consonants in the Finnish language, altering their form in certain grammatical contexts.

Example: kukka (flower) → kukan (of the flower, genitive form) or kukassa (in the flower).

Vowel Harmony (vokaaliharmonia): A feature of Finnish where vowels within a word follow specific patterns to maintain harmony or similarity between vowels.

Example: talo (house) vs. talossa (in the house), where the vowel in the suffix (-ssa) harmonizes with the vowel in the root word. In tie (road) – tiellä (on the road) the neutral vowels i and e take the front vowel suffix, just like in the word pyörä (bike) – pyörällä (by bike).