All nouns, adjectives (including different degrees of comparison), pronouns, numerals and participles can be inflected using nominal cases. In addition, certain adverbs may represent nominals, some of which may not exist outside those adverbs, inflected in particular cases.

The "default", unmarked case for words.

Ending:-t (nominative plural only). The nominative singular is unmarked, except for nominals with the-nen suffix which have a distinct nominative singular.

Uses include:

• The dictionary form is the nominative singular, or the nominative plural if no singular forms exist.
• For subjects in a sentence:auto ajaa sillalla(“acar drives on the bridge”).
• For predicatives:tämä onauto(“this is acar”).
• For certain attributes, such as titles:tohtori X:n(“(of)doctor X”).
• For addressing someone:voiäiti(“ohmother”).
• In thenominativus absolutus:siinä hän istuipää täynnä ajatuksia(“there he sat,head full of thoughts”).

Used primarily for direct objects.

Ending:-n (singular, but see below),-t (plural or personal pronouns only)

Only the personal pronouns (and the interrogativekuka/ken) have their own accusative forms, ending in-t.

For all other nominals, the accusative form is identical to either the nominative ("nominative-accusative" or "unmarked accusative") or the genitive ("genitive-accusative" or "marked accusative").

The nominative-accusative is used:

• in the plural (the genitive plural is never used as an accusative form)
• with a verb in the imperative mood (except for third-person imperatives)

  peseauto! ―washthe car!

• with an impersonal ("passive") verb (arguably syntactically a subject)

  auto pestään ―the car is washed

• with a verb in the first infinitive (dictionary form), if it is used independently without a main verb (otherwise the alignment is as with the main verb)

  pestäauto ―to washa car

• with some passive/reflexive verb structures, liketäytyä

  auto täytyy pestä ―the car must be washed

• for cardinal numerals (except foryksi(“one”))

  pesinkaksi autoa ―I washedtwo cars

and the genitive-accusative in all other cases.

pesinauton ―I washedthe car

pesinyhden auton ―I washedone car

saanko pestäauton? ―may I washthe car?

pesköönauton ―let them washthe car

Uses include:

• The total object of atelic action (cf.partitive):pesin eilen auton ―I washedthe car yesterday,huomasin hänet ―I noticed her
  • Nominative-accusative:peseauto! ―washthe car!
• Forobject-like adverbials of quantity:
  • for expressing a period of time for the duration of an action ("for"):se kestää tunnin ―it will takean hour,anna sen paistua viisitoista minuuttia ―let it cook for fifteen minutes
  • for expressing a quantity ("by", "for"):nousi prosentin ―went up by (one)percent,juoksi metrin ―ran for (one)meter
  • for expressing times, instances, occurrences:sanoi kerran ―once said

Note that the accusative is replaced with thepartitive in negative sentences.

Not all grammars (particularly 21st century ones) recognize the accusative as a distinct case outside the few cases where it has its own forms. According to this interpretation, uses of the 'nominative-accusative' and the 'genitive-accusative' are uses of the nominative and genitive cases instead respectively.

Ending:-n. In the plural, multiple different genitive plural suffixes exist depending on the inflection class. Variants include-in,-jen,-iden,-itten,-ten.

Uses include:

• Possessive genitive
  • Ownership, possession or similar relation:perheen koira(“the family's dog”),miehen pituus(“the man's height”),presidentin vaimo(“the president's wife”),Suomen markka(“Finnish mark/markka”),lapsen kuva(“a photoof the child”).

    With personal pronouns, may be replaced or used in combination with apossessive suffix

• Extensions of the possessive genitive
  • Meronymy:auton rengas(“car('s) tire”),kirveen terä(“the bladeof the axe”)
  • Holonymy:lintujen parvi(“a flockof birds”)
  • Indicating quantity or point of comparison:viiden euron ateria(“five-euro meal”)
  • Certain other grammatical uses in which the suffix may be replaced or used in combination with apossessive suffix:
    • Subject of certain infinitive or participial structures:minun tehdessäni(“as I am doing”),minun syötyäni(“after I had eaten”),väitti minun lähteneen(“claimed that I left”)
    • Agent of an agent participle structure:miehen ostama ...(“... thatthe man bought”)
  • Indicating the degree of a quality or property:siedettävän hiljainen(“tolerably quiet”)
  • With many postpositions:veden alla(“under the water”),mäen päällä(“on topof the hill”)
  • With surnames (informal):Meikäläisen Matti [=Matti Meikäläinen]
• Subject genitive, subject of verbal nouns or action nouns:koiran haukunta(“the barkingof the dog”)
• Object genitive, object of verbal nouns or action nouns:auton ostaminen(“buying acar”)
• The "dative" genitive, now restricted to certain cases (but used more widely in older Finnish):
  • Subject with verb structures indicating necessity or similar:minun täytyy...(“I must... / I have to...”),minun kannattaa...(“I should... / it's a good idea for me to...”)
  • Recipient of an action in certain verb phrases:anna minun mennä(“letme go”)
  • Subject as the recipient of an emotion or a sensation:minun on vaikea tehdä...(“it is hardfor me to do...”)
  • Fixed expressions:Luojan kiitos(“thank God”), once upon a time literally "thanks be to God"

Ending:-a,-ta (-tta in the singular only), depending on the inflectional stem. In the plural, the suffix is attached to the plural infix as usual, but the vowel-i- may turn into a glide (taloi- +-a →taloja).

Uses include:

• The object of anatelic (unfinished) action:

  luen kirjaa ―I am reading the book

  olin pesemässä autoa, kun puhelin soi ―I was washing the car, when the phone rang

  • The object ofverbs that are chiefly atelic:rakastan sinua ―I loveyou
• The partial object of an action:

  söin leipää ―I ate (some) bread

  The meaning would be different with the accusative:söin leivän(“I ate the bread”)

  heitin vettä ―I threw (some) water

  The meaning would be different with the accusative:heitin veden(“I threw the water”)

  onko teillä kirjoja? ―do you have books?

  The meaning would be different with the nominative/accusative:onko teillä kirjat?(“do you have the books?”)

• The object in negative sentences:en pessyt autoa ―I did not washthe car
  • The object in questions where the answer may still be or is expected to be negative:oletko nähnyt häntä? ―have you seen her?
• Uncountable, indefinite predicatives:lasissa on vettä ―there is (some) water in the glass
• In the plural, used for indefinite plurals:tuotteita(“(some) products”) (as opposed to nominativetuotteet(“the products”))
• When quantified:
  • In place of the nominative singular for nominals quantified with a numeral (if that numeral is not one):kaksi autoa ―twocars
  • With many quantifying adverbs:paljon autoja ―manycars
  • With quantifying nouns:lasi vettä ―a glassof water,haluatko toisen palan kakkua? ―would you like a second sliceof cake?
• With a possessive suffix, indicates reason or cause:tehdä hyvyyttään ―to do out of one's good heart
• With most prepositions and some postpositions:ilman autoa ―without acar,ennen kesää ―before summer
• Indicating point of comparison:autoa nopeampi ―faster thanthe car
• Indicating the whole that a part (expressed in a locative case) belongs to:tarttui minua kädestä ―grabbedmy arm / grabbedme by the arm
• Forobject-like adverbials of quantity (seeaccusative) in negative sentences:se ei kestä tuntia ―it won't takean hour,älä anna sen paistua kahtakymmentä minuuttia ―don't let it cook for twenty minutes,ei juossut sataa metriä ―didn't run (for) ahundred meters
• Uses restricted to certain words:
  • manner:hiljaa ―quietly
  • (period of) time:jonkin aikaa ―for some time,tällä kertaa ―this time
• In thepartitivus absolutus (quite rare in modern language):älä syöruokaa suussa(“don't eat withfood in your mouth”)

The partitive form is also identical to theseparative case found in some adverbs with the meaning "from", "out of".

These cases indicate location. Some of the cases have additional, non-trivial functions.

Ending:-ssa.

Uses include:

• Indicating location, "in":istun autossa ―I sitin the car
• Indicating time:tunnissa ―(with)in one hour
• Indicating place or attachment:sukat jalassa ―wearing socks (literally, “socksin the foot/feet”)
• Indicating state or being covered or enveloped by:leipä on homeessa ―the bread is moldy
• Indicating ongoing action with some verbal nouns (not with-minen):olla ruoanlaitossa ―to be cooking
• Indicating inalienable possessions or features:suomessa on viisitoista sijamuotoa ―Finnish has fifteen noun cases (literally, “there are fifteen noun cases in Finnish”)

Note:

• maassa ―on, within the ground

  compare the adessivemaalla(“in the countryside”)

Ending:-sta.

Uses include:

• Indicating motion out of, "out of", "from":tulin autosta ―I cameout of the car
• Indicating the thing, a part of which is being discussed, "of":joku teistä ―oneof you,osa pellosta jäi kesannolle ―a partof the field was left to fallow,takista puuttuu nappi ―there is a button missingout of the coat
• Indicating source material, "(out) of":raudasta tehty ―made(out) of iron
• Indicating that which may fill something else:sali täyttyi ihmisistä ―the room filledwith people,katu tyhjeni ihmisistä ―the street was emptiedof people
• Indicating a topic or subject (for discussion), "of", "about":puhua sinusta ―to talkabout you
• Indicating the holder of an opinion (usually only with personal pronouns):minusta se on hyvä ajatus ―Ithink it's a good idea
• Indicating a price or something given in exchange, "for":myydä auto tuhannesta eurosta ―to sell a carfor a thousand euro
• Indicating a starting time, "since":viime kerrasta on jo kaksi vuotta ―it has already been two yearssince last time,maanantaista perjantaihin ―from Monday to Friday
• Indicating time, especially when emphasizing it as the earliest time possible for something:heti aamusta ―right in the morning
• Indicating holding onto:pitää autosta kiinni ―to holdonto the car
• Indicating cause, reason, "of", "due to":suuttui leikistä ―got angrydue to (some) playing around,epäillä murhasta ―to suspectof murder,itkeä ilosta ―to cryout of joy
• Indicating prevention, "from":estin tekemästä ―I preventedfrom doing

Ending:-hVn,-Vn,-seen, depending on the inflectional class (the V corresponds to the preceding vowel). In poetic Finnish, the-h- may be retained in the ending more widely than in standard Finnish.

Uses include:

• Indicating motion into, "to", "into", "in":menen autoon ―I'll goin the car
• Indicating direction:vasempaan ―(to the) left
• Indicating a target state:kyykkyyn ―into a squat
• Indicating something that is started or begun:alkaa töihin ―to start to work (on)
• Indicating extent up to:tie päättyi aitaan ―the road endsat the fence, extendsto the fence,luento kestää kahteen ―the lecture lastsuntil two o'clock
• Indicating grasping, grabbing, "onto":tarttua minuun ―to grabonto me
• Indicating an ending time, "until":ensi kertaan on vielä kaksi vuotta ―it's still two yearsuntil the next time,maanantaista perjantaihin ―from Mondayto Friday
• Indicating a time for which something has not happened (with units of time), "for":en ole nähnyt häntä vuoteen ―I haven't seen himfor a year
• Indicating the target of aninchoative action, particularly one that involves emotions or feelings:ihastua häneen ―to fall in lovewith him/her
• Indicating the target of some action, particularly an inanimate object that one strives to do something for:rahat kuluivat takkiin ―the money was spenton the coat
• Indicating the cause of some actions:kuolla kylmään ―to dieof cold
• Indicating the capability or what something is good "for":ei hänestä ole mihinkään ―he's goodfor nothing
• Indicating manner with some adverbs and adjectives:homma sujuijoutuisaan ―the work progressedspeedily

Ending:-lla.

Uses include:

• Indicating a location on top of something, "on":se on pöydällä ―it'son the table
• Indicating an approximate or rough location, "at":olen autolla ―I'mat the car,meillä on vieraita ―there are guestsat our house,olen huomenna toimistolla ―I'll beat the office tomorrow
• Indicating possession:minulla on auto ―I have a car
  • Indicating certain feelings or sensations:minulla on nälkä ―I am hungry (literally, “I have hunger”)
• Indicating a tool or an instrument, "with":lyödä vasaralla ―to hitwith a hammer,syön veitsellä ja haarukalla ―I eatwith a knife and fork
  • Indicating the agent of causative or curative verbs:kaivatti kuopan hänellä ―had the pit dugby him
• Indicating a cause or motive:tahallaan ―on purpose
• Indicating means:millä ehdolla teet sen? ―on what condition will you do it?,Kalle elättää perheensä pienellä palkallansa ―Kalle supports his familywith his small salary
• Indicating state of being:vatsallaan ―on one's stomach
• Indicating time with some nouns:illalla ―in the evening
• Indicating quantity, "by":kasvoi kahdella ―went upby two
• Indicating something that comes with something else (proscribed, but common):kahvi maidolla ja sokerilla ―coffeewith milk and sugar

Ending:-lta.

Uses include:

• Indicating motion away from on top of something:otin sen pöydältä ―I took itfrom/off the table
• Indicating motion away from an approximate or rough location:tulin autolta ―I camefrom the car (but not from inside the car),tulin matkoilta ―I came from a trip,löysin kadulta lompakon ―I found a walleton the street
• Indicating from whom something is received, requested or taken away:hän otti sen minulta ―he took itfrom me,kysyn sinulta ―I'm asking you,sinulta tuli hyvä ehdotus ―you made a good proposal (literally, “from you came a good proposal”)
• Indicating the patient of some actions:se ei sinulta onnistu ―you cannot do that / you're not going to be able to do it (literally, “it will not succeedfrom you”)
• Indicating a state of being that will cease to be:vatsaltaan ―from beingon one's stomach
• Indicating a quantity relative to some other (usually regular) quantity:euro litralta ―euro every litre,viisi euroa tunnilta ―five euro every hour
• Indicating time:kello kuudelta ―at six o'clock,jääkiekkoharjoitukset loppuvat puoli kuudelta ―the ice hockey training endsat half past five
• Indicating appearance or apparent property:maistuu hyvältä ―tastes good,vaikuttaa hyvältä ―seems good,kuulostaa hyvältä ―sounds good
• In expressions discussing some aspect of something, "by":luonteeltaan vilkas ―livelyby nature
• Indicating a cause or reason:en saa melulta nukuttua ―I can't get sleepbecause of the noise

Ending:-lle.

Uses include:

• Indicating motion onto, on top of something:kissa hyppäsi pöydälle ―a cat jumpedon the table
• Indicating motion towards an approximate or rough location:menen autolle ―I'll goto the car,menen matkoille ―I'll go for a trip
• Indicating direction:oikealle ―(to the) right
• Indicating to whom something is given:anna se minulle ―give itto me,tein äidille kakun ―I made my mom a cake
• Indicating a state of being that will be:vatsalleen ―onto one's stomach
• Indicating the target to whom something suits or does not suit:sopiiko se sinulle? ―is that finewith you?
• Indicating appearance or apparent property (same as ablative; the choice between the two is personal, but using allative risks ambiguity):maistuu hyvälle ―tastes good

These cases indicate being or becoming.

Ending:-na.

Uses include:

• Indicating (an unchanging) state, "as":lääkärinä ―as a doctor,pidän sitä hyvänä kirjana ―I consider it a good book,odottaa hermostuneena ―to wait nervously,olla sairaana ―to be ill,ehtiä kotiin ensimmäisenä ―to get home first,hiilidioksidia on varastoituna metsiin ―there is carbon dioxide stored in the forests
  • Compareollasairas(“to be ill”)(nominative) withollasairaana(“to be ill”)(essive); the latter has the nuance of a temporary state, while the former might imply that the state is not temporary.
• To represent a unit for a quantity, "in":kymmenen euroa dollareina ―ten eurosin dollars,paino kilogrammoina ―weightin kilogrammes
• Indicating time; used with the days of the week and most holidays, and when used with a common determiner, many units of time, the seasons and times of day:tänä iltana ―(at) this evening/night,ensi vuonna ―next year,juhannuksena ―this midsummer
• Corresponding to English "if I were X", often with personal pronouns:sinuna en menisi sinne ―I wouldn't go thereif I were you

The essive form is also identical to thelocative case found in some adverbs with the meaning "in", "at" (e.g.tännempänä(“closer to here”)).

In older (often poetic) language, the essive (singular) may also be formed (directly) from the consonant stem with some words, specifically those with a partitive singular ending in-ta/-tä; it can be obtained by replacing the last-t- in the partitive singular with-n-, and simplifying some consonant sequences (-tn- →-nn-, usually-sn- →-ss-, occasionally also-ln-,-rn- →-ll-,-rr-).

Ending:-ksi (-kse- with a possessive suffix).

Uses include:

• Indicating assuming or entering a state:hän tuli hulluksi ―he became mad,kirja käännettiin englanniksi ―the book was translatedinto English,hän tuli toiseksi ―he came/finished second,antaa lahjaksi ―to giveas a gift,pestä puhtaaksi ―to wash clean
• Indicating a state that is perceived, but not necessarily correct:luulin sinua varkaaksi ―I thought you were a thief,syyttää varkaaksi ―to accuse of being a thief
• Indicating manner:puhua suomeksi ―to speakin Finnish,olla ihmisiksi ―to behave properly
• Indicating a point of reference or a comparison, "for":ikäisekseen pitkä ―tallfor one's age,tuomariksi kansanomainen ―folksyfor a judge
• Indicating time that is a deadline or target:valmiina viideksi ―readyby five,siirretään se ensi kesäksi ―let's postpone itto next summer
• Indicating an intended period of time, "for":lähteä lomalle kahdeksi viikoksi ―to go on a leavefor two weeks
• Indicating purpose (including the first infinitive):tehdä työkseen ―to dofor a living, to doas a job,sopiva johtajaksi ―suitedto be a leader,liian tulista syötäväksi ―too spicyto eat
• With present participles, indicating purpose:ei ole tarkoitettu juotavaksi ―is not meantto be drunk,määrätä vangittavaksi ―to orderto be imprisoned
• With past participles, indicating an action that was carried out inadvertently:taisin tulla sanoneeksi jotain sopimatonta ―I may haveinadvertently said something inappropriate
• In some adverbs, motion towards:kauaksi ―(to) far away,tuonnemmaksi ―(to) further over there
• In thelong first infinitive

These cases are not asproductive, especially in the colloquial language.

Ending:-tta.

Means "without". Usingilman is more common in the modern language, and abessive forms are generally restricted to fixed expressions. Abessive forms of thethird infinitive remain common, however.

rahatta [= ilman rahaa] ―without money,syyttä ―for no reason,huoletta ―without worry,maksutta ―at no charge,vaivatta ―without effort,vahingotta ―undamaged /without damage,kiistatta ―undeniably,tuloksetta ―without result /to no avail,pitemmittä puheitta ―without further ado,tekemättä ―not done /undone

Ending:-n.

The instructive indicates a tool, instrument or manner. It is for the most part constrained to certain fixed expressions, and the adessive case is much more commonly used to mark a tool or instrument. Possessive forms are only used in practice in a single expression.

There is quite a bit of tendency to use two words with instructives:omin silmin ―with my own eyes,pitkin askelin ―with/in long steps,niin muodoin ―consequently / accordingly,suurin ponnistuksin ―with great effort,kaksin verroin ―doubly,monin paikoin ―in many areas/places,suurin toivein ―with great hopes,paljain päin ―with a bare head (i.e. not wearing any headwear).

However, single-word instructives exist as well:säännöin ―with rules,hartiavoimin ―with one's strength (in terms of physical exertion),ilomielin ―with joy / joyfully,vuoroviikoin ―on alternate weeks. Many of them are lexicalized, e.g.harvoin,hyvin,oikein,osin,yksin.

There are some cases where the attribute has a different case:tällä tavoin ―(in) this way,hyvissä ajoin ―in good time,väärälle puolen ―to the wrong side,näillä näkymin ―currently it seems that....

Ending:-ne (+possessive suffix with nouns).

Corresponds to the English prepositionwith (usually in the sense of bringing something along). No singular form exists. A possessive suffix is added to the inflected form, except for the attribute (often an adjective).

haukkuvine koirineen ―with one's barking dog(s),likaisine sorminesi ―with your dirty fingers,kaikkine varusteineen ―with all its equipment

The postpositionkanssa is much more common in general use, though.

Adverbs containing case endings can usually be used as if they were nominals in the corresponding case if doing so makes sense, e.g.talteen (illative) can be used with the sense oflaittaa(“to put”) that governs the illative or allative case.

Only a small number of words, mostly pronouns, inflect in what some grammars call theadverbial cases. As the name suggests, the inflected words are considered adverbs. SeeAppendix:Finnish adverbs § Adverbial cases for full information.

SeeAppendix:Finnish possessive suffixes.

The rules regarding number (singular or plural) in Finnish are roughly the same as those of English: singular for one, plural for every other quantity. However, there are also differences: for example, the plural form isn't necessarily used of multiple things if the number is specified (seePartitive).

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