Use of Partitive

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Rob A.
Posts: 3966
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:51 am

Use of Partitive

Post by Rob A. » Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:09 am

Quick question on the use of the partitive....
You can say, zum Beispiel..."viisi taloa" as a stand alone statement...my question is when and how would you use the plural partitive... "muutamia taloja"...

Thanks in anticipation...

Aside: I used to be a Finlandforum regular ...six or seven years ago, so this is a nice little nostalgic visit... :)



Use of Partitive

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AldenG
Posts: 3353
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:11 am

Re: Use of Partitive

Post by AldenG » Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:39 pm

Rob A. wrote:
Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:09 am
Quick question on the use of the partitive....
You can say, zum Beispiel..."viisi taloa" as a stand alone statement...my question is when and how would you use the plural partitive... "muutamia taloja"...

Thanks in anticipation...

Aside: I used to be a Finlandforum regular ...six or seven years ago, so this is a nice little nostalgic visit... :)
Very long time no see -- my very first thought on seeing your name under New Posts.

The funny way that Finnish uses partitive blurs the line a little, but plural is still plural, and singular is still singular. "Kylässä oli muutamia taloja" would be the default way to say there were several houses in the village--not the only way, but the first that would come to mind. In English, the difference between "muutamia taloja" and "muutama talo" (not partitive) there is like the difference between "several houses" and "a house or two" or "the odd house" in the sense of more than one.
As he persisted, I was obliged to tootle him gently at first and then, seeing no improvement, to trumpet him vigorously with my horn.

Rob A.
Posts: 3966
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:51 am

Re: Use of Partitive

Post by Rob A. » Thu Mar 30, 2023 7:02 am

Hi Alden

...good to hear from you...hope all is going well. I haven't been bothering too much with Finnish in recent years, though it seems it's a bit like riding a bicycle...you don't totally forget, just get a bit rusty. I was responding to a post on some other website and the topic of learning Finnish came up. The case system really is a great feature of Finnish once you get the hang of it.... Obviously, in English, prepositions are used for many of the same functions, but of course, the case system goes further.

Currently, my focus has been on learning German, and I'm getting close to fluency now, though, the reality is that off and on I've been studying German for most of my life, but getting enough practice has been an issue. Four main cases in German, though I keep reading the German genitive is dying out, but I'm getting the impression that is probably a bit overstated.

German does seem a lot easier to learn...similar ancient language base as English, but also because of the large number of speakers, there are plenty of online resources....and the resources tend to be prepared with the usual Teutonic thoroughness. I quite like that these days it is really quite easy to stream German television...many shows with German subtitles...and terrific, at least, for passive listening comprehension.

Anyway enough for now...

Cheers Rob


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