When do you use the partitive and when the accusative?

[suomiruli]

I am learning finnish, but i am not really good yet at the moment. I am just doing the cases, but what i really don't get is: when do you use the partitive and when the accusative?, when you want to put an object in a sentence. I can't find it anywhere, so if someon knows it, you're welcome!

[Hank W.]

http://cc.oulu.fi/~mkarjala/soh2/soh1/soh1-gr10.htm

[suomiruli]

thanks for that link, but my finnish is not very good, so i don't know that what's written there..

[Hank W.]

Hrmpf. Save it for reference -top level has a grammar book. OK, google is my friend, I sshall not seek http://www.answers.com/topic/partitive-case

That should rap it up. Of course it doesn't necessarily make much sense at first.

[suomiruli]

Thanks for that link! now i begin to get it .

[Hank W.]

Its a bit tricky, sometimes you can use either and its not anything "wrong" but sometimes you can cause hilarity. The bear example is good:
Ammuin karhua (I shot at a bear (I missed, its coming at me))
Ammuin karhun (I shot a bear (and it died, the game warden is coming at me))

Of couse, then for the inkling Finnish student -translate.

Lehmä ammui karhua.

[suomiruli]

Hehe, why the COW shot a bear?
But are you finnish yourself or something, that you are so good in Finnish? :)

[Hank W.]

Heh. No, the cow mooed at the bear.
ammua/ampua
minä ammuin
sinä ammuit
hän ammui/ampui

these homonyms make people rip their hair off. one word can be two different things and you need to figure it from the context.

[sy]

I remembered my teacher had told us the simple rule to decide to use partitive or accusative: imagine you enter into a two-room flat, you always stay in the first partitive room if you have any reason to stay there; if not, enter into the accusative room.

Reasons to stay in the partitive room:
- in a negative sentence
- with verbs indicating an continuous process (e.g., rakastaa)
- emphasis on the on-going process of a verb
- uncountable nouns

Reasons to go to the accusative room:
- emphasis on the result of a verb (the process was/is/will be ended)
- emphasis on the object as a whole.

Hope this helps.