A Finnish Grammar

Luulen että poika on ahkera becomes Luulen pojan olevan ahkeran.

It is possible to still more abridge the proposition by rejecting olevan and putting the complement in the translative. Luulen pojan ahkeraksi. Tiesi hetkensä tulleeksi, he knew that his hour had come. Huomasin hänen menneeksi, I noticed he was gone. Kertoi veneen kaatuneeksi, he related that the boat had been upset (v. page 158).

If the predicate of the subordinate sentence in the expanded form is a passive verb, the passive participle can be used in the genitive singular. The subject of such a proposition is always in the partitive. As a rule only part. I passive is used in the genitive, part. II being generally in the translative according to the construction mentioned above.

Tiedän häntä odotettavan, I know they are waiting for him. Näin karhua ammuttavan, I see the bear is being shot at; but Epäilen karhua tappetuksi, I doubt if the bear has been killed. Uskon metsää hakattavan, I think the forest is being cut down; but Uskon metsän hakatuksi, I think the forest has been cut down.

These participal constructions are also employed when the verb introducing the subordinate sentence is in the passive form. Under such circumstances the subject of the subordinate sentence may either remain in the nominative or pass into the genitive.

Siinä makasiinissa kuulutaan saatavan oikeata kiinalaista teetä, this shop is said to receive real Chinese tea. Sanotaan varustettavan sotaretkeä, it is said that an expedition is being armed. Luultiin ihmisiä kuolleen, it was thought the men were dead.

The intransitive verbs näkyä, to be seen; näyttää, to appear; tuntua, to feel; kuulua, to be heard, also take the genitive of the participle.

Hän kuuluu eronneen miehestään ja lähteneen Pietariin, she is said to be divorced from her husband and to have left for St. Petersburg. Et näy tuntevan vanhaa ystävääsi, you don’t seem to know your old friend. Ei kuulu saadun kaloja, it is said no fish have been caught[16].

PREPOSITIONS, POSTPOSITIONS, AND ADVERBS.

As has been already explained in the Accidence the greater number of these words in Finnish are declinable substantives, and take the various cases under just the same rules as an ordinary noun. With the exception of a certain number of petrified and isolated forms, they may be compared to the word midst in English. We say he came from the midst, went into the midst, or stood in the midst. In the language of Finnish grammarians such forms would be considered as adverbs. Whereas in such expressions as in the midst, or from the midst of the crowd, they would be called postpositions or prepositions. This practice of declining adverbs and postpositions is, however, carried to lengths for which no analogy can be found in English. Thus myöhä, is late (an adjective), but to come late is rendered by tulla myöhään; on account of the idea of motion in the verb. To watch late into the night is valvoa myöhälle yötä, and such an expression as later on (of a date) is rendered by the essive myöhempänä.

Most, but not all, postpositions, are capable of taking the pronominal affixes, with or without a genitive of the personal pronoun before them.

The subjoined list of prepositions and postpositions gives all the words considered as falling under these categories by ordinary grammars. As a matter of fact, it might very well be either enlarged or curtailed, which last would be better, as some of the words are substantives in ordinary use. But I have thought it better to adhere to the conventional list.

I. Postpositions and Prepositions used in only one case.

(1) Ennen (instrumental of ensi). Preposition followed by partitive. Before. Ennen Kristuksen syntymää, before the birth of Christ. Ennen aikojansa, before one’s time; too soon. Ennen tuloani, before I came.

(2) Halki, across. Preposition followed by genitive. Halki metsän, through the wood. Lenti kokko halki taivon. (Kal. ii. 265).

(3) Ilman (instrumental of ilma), without, preposition with partitive. Ilman apua, without help. Ilman rahaa, without money. Ilman sitä, besides. Also used with the abessive. Ilman muiden avutta, without the help of others. Hän otti rahat vastaan ilman lukematta, he received the money without counting it. Ilman maan alistamatta, Ilman kasken kaatamatta (Kal. ii. 254).

(4) Kanssa, with. Postposition with the genitive. Pojan kanssa, with the boy. Isänsä kanssa, with his father. Kanssa takes the pronominal suffixes. Minun kanssani, sinun kansassi, hänen kanssansa, etc. Hän kulki kanssani koko matkan, he went all the way with me. Puhuiko hän kanssasi? did he speak to you?

(5) Kautta (partitive of kausi). Postposition after the genitive, through, or by the help of; like kanssa it takes the pronominal suffixes. Minun kauttani, by my help. Hän on tunnetu isänsä kautta, he is known on account of his father. Also used as a preposition in the sense of all over. Huhu leviää kautta kaiken kaupungin, the rumour spreading over the whole city. Kävelimme kylien kautta, we went through the villages.

(6) Paitsi, besides. Preposition with the partitive. Paitsi sinua ei ole minulla yhtään ystävää, I have no friend but you. Paitsi sitä, besides this. Paitsi veljensä apua olisi hän joutunut hukkaan, he would have been ruined without his brother’s help.

(7) Pitkin, along. Preposition with the partitive. Käydä pitkin tietä, to go along a road. Lapset juoksentelevat pitkin pihoja, the children run about in the courts.

(8) Poikki. Postposition or preposition with genitive, across: Kulkea joen poikki, to cross the river. Jänis juoksi poikki tien, the hare ran across the road.

(9) Puhki. Preposition or postposition, across. Luoti meni puhki lasin, the bullet came through the glass.

(10) Suhteen (illative of suhde), postposition with genitive, in relation to, compared with. Wähä tarpeen suhteen, small for one’s wants. Palkan suhteen oli tyytyväinen, he was satisfied with the remuneration.

(11) Takia,Tautta, Tähden, postposition with genitive, for the sake of, for, in consequence of.

Älä minun tähdeni vaivaa näe, do not trouble on my account. Kipeän jalkani tautta en voi astua, I can’t stand on account of my bad leg. Nälän tähden, from hunger. Kauppamies viipyi pari päivää asiansa takia, the merchant waited a couple of days for affairs.

(12) Varten. Preposition with partitive, for, for the use of. Isä osti vaatteita lapsiansa varten, the father bought clothes for his children. Kouluja varten, for the use of schools. Mitä varten sinä itket? why do you weep?

(13) Vuoksi, for the sake of, for (much the same as tähden). Postposition with the genitive. Rahan vuoksi, for money. Minä lueskelen huvin vuoksi, I read for pleasure.

II. Postpositions and Prepositions which are declined in several cases.

(1) The following words, usually considered as cases of a nominative ali which is not found, are used as postpositions with the genitive to express rest or motion under an object.

a. Alla, rest under. Pöydän alla, under the table. Paljaan taiwaan alla, under the open heaven. Also metaphorically, Hänellä on suuret maat allansa, large countries are under his dominion. Johdon alla, under the direction of. Oven suussa orren alla, Kal.

b. Alta, motion from under. Koira tuli pöydän alta, the dog came from under the table. Itse altansa, of oneself. Hän on mies itse altansa, he is a self-made man. Karhu nousi petäjän alta, the bear got up from under the fir tree.

c. Alle, motion to the place under an object. Koira juoksi pöydän alle, the dog ran under the table. Antaa asia toisten tuomion alle, to leave a thing to another person’s discretion. Kala ui sillan alle, the fish swam under the bridge.

d. Alitse or alatse, expressing motion across a space under an object. Lintu lensi auringon alatse, a bird flew under (or across) the sun. Yli kuun, alitse päivän, above the moon, but below the sun.

(2) From the nominative asen, place, come asemessa and asemesta, postpositions with genitive, in the place of, instead of. Miehen asemesta, leivän asemesta, instead of a man, bread, etc. Talon pojat suorittavat veronsa rahan asemesta viljassa, the peasants pay their taxes in corn instead of money.

(3) From esi, the space before an object, are formed the following postpositions which require the genitive before them.

a. Edessä, rest before. Hevonen on reen edessä, the horse is (harnessed) in front of the sledge. Älä seiso edessäni, do not stand before me. Pilvet ovat kuun edessä, there are clouds over the moon.

b. Edestä, motion from before. Siirtyä jonkun edestä, to move from before some one, to get out of the way. Edestä is also used somewhat loosely to express for, instead of, etc.; e.g. Kristus kuoli meidän synteimme edestä, Christ died for our sins. Tee se minun edestäni, do it instead of me, for me.

c. Eteen, the illative, expresses motion into the space before an object. Wiholliset seisahtuivat leirin eteen, the enemy marched up to the camp and halted. When used metaphorically, like edestä, it means for. Isä tekee työtä lastensa eteen, the father works for his children. Katsoa eteensä, to look before or take care.

d. Edellä expresses rest on a space before an object, and is nearly the same as edessä, the only difference being that between the inessive and adessive cases. He kävivät minun edelläni, they walked before me. Prepositionit käytetään partitivin edellä, prepositions are used before the partitive.

e. Edelle expresses motion into a place before anything. Hän ajoi hevosensa koko joukon edelle, he drove his horse on to a place before all the people. Kuningas asetti johtajat kansan edelle, the king appointed leaders for the people.

f. Similarly edeltä expresses motion from a place in front of anything. Mies läksi toisten edeltä, he went from before the others.

(3) Joukko, a crowd, number.

a. Joukossa, in the crowd or among. Postposition with the genitive. Elää ihmisten joukossa, to live among men. Älä istu pilkkaajain joukossa, be not among the scornful.

b. Joukkoon expresses motion into or with. Katosi kansan joukkoon, he was lost in this crowd.

(4) Jälki, footstep or trace, is used in several cases to mean behind, chiefly of motion.

a. Jälessä, behind. Mennä jonkun jälessä, to walk behind anyone. Paimen kulkee laumansa jälessä, the shepherd goes behind his flock. Tuli minun jälessäni, he walked behind me.

b. Jälestä, behind or after, with the idea of motion from. Jumalten jälestä ovat ihmiset, men come next to gods. Hän tuli minun jälestäni, he came later than I. Also used in exactly the same sense as jälessä. Sen jälestä on iso joki, behind it is a big river.

c. Jälkeen means simply after, the force of the illative case having been lost. Kristuksen syntymän jälkeen, after the birth of Christ. Minun luuloni jälkeen, according to my opinion. Kello kolmen jälkeen, after three o’clock. Minä kirjoitan sanainne jälkeen, I write from your dictation.

(5) Kera, meaning company or society, is used as a postposition with the genitive in the nominative, adessive, and allative, in the signification of with, or beside.

a. Kera:—Sen kera, therewith. Istuin isännän kera, I sat with the master of the house.

b. Keralla:—Minä menin hänen kerallansa, I went with him. Kenenkä keralla olette olleet? with whom were you?

c. Keralle:—Tule keralleni, come with me.

(6) Keski, the middle. From this are formed the following:—

a. Kesken.

i. Preposition with the partitive, or rarely with the genitive, in the midst of. Hän pysähtyi kesken puhettansa, he stopped in the middle of his speech. Poika itki kesken lauluansa, the boy wept in the midst of his song.

ii. More commonly as a postposition with the genitive. Heidän kesken syntyi riita, a controversy arose between them. Kahden keskan, tête-à-tête. Olkoon se sanottu kahden kesken, let this be between ourselves. Asia on sovittu miesten kesken, the matter has been arranged among the men.

b. Keskenä, literally, in the midst, is used with the pronominal suffixes in a reflexive sense which closely resembles the Latin inter se. He pitävät vihaa keskenänsä, they hate one another. Me sovimme keskenämme, we became reconciled. Pilatus ja Herodes tulivat ystäviksi keskenänsä, Pilate and Herod were reconciled.

c. Keskellä (dial. Kesellä). Preposition with the partitive, or postposition with the genitive, in the midst of. Keskellä kaupunkia or kaupungin keskellä, in the middle of the town. Keskellä virtaa, in the middle of the stream. Keskellä kesää, alvea, yötä, päivää, in the middle of summer, winter, the night, the day.

d. Keskeltä, from the midst. Preposition with the partitive, or, more usually, postposition with the genitive. Tulla keskeltä peltoa or pellon keskeltä, to come from the middle of the field. En nähnyt miestä keskeltä huonetta, I did not see the man from the middle of the room.

(7) Kohta, a place (or kohti) gives the following forms:—

a. Kohdalla, kohdalta, and kohdalle, denote rest in, or motion from and to a place in the vicinity of something else, and are postpositions with the genitive. Talo on kirkon kohdalla, the house is near the church. Ota pois tuolit ikkunan kohdalta, take the chairs away from the window. Katu on laaistu talon kohdalta.

b. Kohtaan, the illative postposition with the partitive, means for or in respect of. Hän on hyvä ystäviänsä kohtaan, he is good to his friends. Rakkaus Jumalaa kohtaan, love of God. Lapset ovat nöyrät isäänsä kohtaan, the children are humble before their father.

c. Kohti, or kohden, postpositions with the partitive. Tulla kaupunkia kohti or kohden, to come to the town. Hän kulki kotia kohti. Maksetaan viisi markkaa päivässä miestä kohden.

(8) Liki. The nominative, adessive, allative, and ablative are used to mean near.

a. Liki, preposition with partitive. Talo on liki kaupunkia, the house is near the town. Reppänä on liki lakea, the smoke hole is near the roof.

b. Likellä

c. Likelle

d. Likeltä

are used either as prepositions with the partitive, or as postpositions with the genitive. Minä asun kaupungin likellä, or better, likellä kaupunkia, I live near the town. And similarly the other two cases are used to express motion towards or from the neighbourhood of an object.

(9) Lähi, neighbourhood, is used in the adessive, allative, and ablative in exactly the same sense as liki, either as a preposition with the partitive, or as a postposition with the genitive. Kirkon lähellä or lähellä kirkkoa, near the church, etc. Rannan lähellä (or lähellä rantaa) kasvavat kaihlat. Minä ammuin linnun aivan läheltäni, I shot a bird quite near me.

(10) Luo, which is not found as a substantive in the nominative, is used in the essive, partitive, and translative as a postposition with the genitive.

a. The essive, luona, means with or at the house of (French chez). Lapset asuivat setänsä luona, the children lived with their uncle.

b. The translative, luoksi, is used to express motion to the house or presence of a person. Milloin tulette minun luokseni? when are you coming to see me? Keisari käski ruhtinaan tulla hänen luoksensa, the emperor ordered the prince to appear before him.

c. There is a form luo, no doubt shortened from luoksi and really a translative, which is used in the same sense as luoksi. Minä menen tuttujeni luo, I am going to see my acquaintances.

d. The partitive luota denotes motion from the house or presence of a person. Lähettiläs tuli keisarin luota, the ambassador came from the emperor. Milloin läksit hänen luotansa? when did you leave him?

(11) Läpi, lävitse (läpitse), mean across. Läpi means literally a hole.

a. Läpi is either a postposition with the genitive, or a preposition with the same case. Kuula meni ikkunan läpi, the bullet came through the window. Aurinko paistaa läpi ikkunan, the sun shines through the window. Katosi läpi käsien, it fell through his hands and was lost.

b. Läpitse or lävitse, the prolative, is used in much the same sense, expressing a motion along and through an object. Nuoli tunkesi seinän läpitse, the arrow passed through the wall. Ei puhalla tuuli turkin lävitse, the wind does not pierce through a fur.

(12) Muka, nearness or likeness.

a. Muassa, with. Postposition with genitive. Kulkea muiden muassa, to journey in company with others. Ei minulla ollut rahoja muassani, I had no money about me.

b. The essive mukana is also used in the same sense. Kuka on sinun mukanasi? who is with you?

c. Mukaan, postposition with the genitive, means with, or according to, agreeably to, after. Lähteä toisten mukaan, to go with the others. Tehkää käskyn mukaan, do as you are bid. Neuvon mukaan, according to the advice. Luonnon mukaan, naturally. Tapansa mukaan, according to his custom. Koetti hän kasvattaa itsensä Turgenjevin naistyyppien mukaan, she tried to form herself after Turgenieff’s female types.

(13) a. Myötä, postposition with genitive, meaning with. Onko rahoja miesten myötä? have the men money with them? Hän ei ottanut aseita myötänsä, he did not take the arms with him.

b. Myöten, postposition with partitive, meaning along or according to. Käydä tietä myöten, to follow a road. Tahtoasi myöten, as you wish. Virta paisui äyräitänsä myöten, the river flowed by its banks.

(14) Ohi, side, forms the following postpositions with the genitive.

a. Ohessa, at the side of. Istui tien ohessa, he sat by the wayside. Muun ohessa puhui, among other things he said.

b. Ohesta, from the side, rarely used. Nousi tien ohesta, he rose from the way side.

Similarly

c. ohella (or ohilla),

d. ohelta,

e. and oheen

in much the same sense, by the side of or with. Hän kulki minun ohellani, he came with me. Ääni kuului tien ohelta, a noise was heard from the road. Iso kivi on pellon ohella, there is a big stone by the field. Istautui tien oheen, he sat down by the wayside.

f. Ohitse or ohi expresses motion along or by the side of anything. Kulkea jonkun ohitse, to pass a person. Me ajoimme heidän ohitsensa (or ohi), we drove by them. Ammuin linnun ohitse, I missed (shot beside) the bird.

(15) Perä, the extreme or hinder part of anything, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Perässä, behind. Lapsi käy isän perässä, the child walks behind the father. Sairaswaunut kulkevat sotajoukon perässä, the ambulance goes behind the army.

b. Perästä, behind or after, generally implying that the second object depends on the first, which is thus a point of departure. Sen perästä, afterwards. Toinen toisensa perästä, one after another. Kolmen wuoden perästä, after three years.

c. Perään, after, implying motion. Mennä jonkun perään, to go to look for some one. Katsoa lapsen perään, to look after the children. Miksi ette lähettäneet minun perääni? why did you not send for me?

(16) The local cases of Puoli, a half or side, are used as postpositions with the genitive.

a. Puolessa, at or near. Turun puolessa, round Turku (Åbo). Pohjan, idän puolessa, in the North, in the East.

b. Puolesta, from the side of or for, on behalf of. Puhua itsensä puolesta, to speak for oneself. Se tapahtukoon minun puotestani, it can be done as far as I am concerned. Sen puolesta, että...., for this reason, that.... Hän nousi maansa puolesta, he rose up for his fatherland.

c. Puolella, on the side of. Tuuli on idän puolella, the wind is in the East. Olla kuninkaan puolella, to be on the king’s side. N.B. toisella puolella followed by partitive. Toisella puolella järveä, on the other side of the lake.

d. Puolelta, from the side of, from. Tuli syttyi tuulen puolelta, the fire burnt in the side when the wind blew.

e. Puolelle, to the side of, to. Mennä wihollisten puolelle, to go over to the enemy.

f. Puoleen, to the side of, to. Katsoa jonkun puoleen, to look towards a person. Kenenkä puoleen minun olisi käännyttävä? to whom shall I turn?

(17) Pää, the head or extremity, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Päässä

b. Päästä

c. Päähän

are used to express a distance or limit in space. Kuula menee kahden virstan päähän, the bullet carries two miles. Suomen raja on jonkun penikulman päässä Pietarista, the Finnish frontier is some miles from Petersburg. Minä tunsin tulijan viiden kymmenen sylen päästä, I recognised the new comer from several yards’ distance. Vihollinen on virstan päässä, the enemy is a mile off. Päästä is also used of time. Viikon päästä, after a week.

d. Päällä

e. Päältä

f. Päälle

express respectively rest on, motion from above or into the space above an object. Olla veden päällä, to float. Tuuli on meren päältä, the wind comes from the sea. Lentää katon päälle, to fly on to the roof. On sadekaapu palttoon päällä, there is a cape on the great coat.

(18) Rinta, breast or side, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Rinnalla

b. Rinnalle

expressing rest by, or motion to the side of. Poika istuu isänsä rinnalla, the boy sits by his father’s side. Laskea joku jonkun rinnalle, to put some one by some one else, i.e. to compare. Älä pyri hänen rinnallensa, strive not to be like him.

(19) Seka, a mixture or collection, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. seassa

b. seasta

c. sekaan

Kiiltää kulta rikkojenkin seasta, gold glitters in what one throws away. Panna wettä wiinin sekaan, to mix water with wine. Ihmisten seassa, among men. Seassamme, between us.

(20) Sisä, the interior, is used as a postposition in all the local cases.

a. Sisässä

b. Sisästä

c. Sisään

d. Sisällä

e. Sisältä

f. Sisälle

Oletko ollut tämän huoneen sisässä, have you been in this room? Kärme tuli puun sisästä, the snake came out of the tree. Onko kirkon sisällä paljo väkeä, are there many people in the church?

(21) Taka, meaning the space behind anything, forms postpositions with the genitive.

a. Takaa (partitive), from behind or after. Hän tuli oven takaa, he came from behind the door. Iso honka näkyy koivujen takaa, there is a great fir behind the beeches. Wuoden takaa, after a year. It means also according to. Woimansa takaa, according to one’s power; with all one’s might.

b. Takana (essive), behind. Käydä jonkun takana, to go behind or follow any one. Seisoa seinän takana, to stand behind the wall. Rahat on takanani, the money is in my keeping. Olla turvan takana, to be under the protection of.

c. Translative—taaksi, taakse, taa, back, backwards, or across. Katsoa taaksensa, to look backwards. Lähteä meren taaksi (or taa), to go across the sea. Aurinko laskeutuu vuorten taa, the sun sets behind the mountains.

(22) Sisäpuoli, interior, is used in the adessive, ablative, and allative.

a. Sisäpuolella Suomalaiset kanssaheimot eivät asu kaikki suomen rajain sisäpuolella, all the Finnish tribes do not live within the Finnish frontier.

b. Kuuluiko ääni huoneen sisäpuolelta? was the voice heard within the room?

c. Paimen ajoi lampaat aitauksen sisäpuolelle, the shepherd drove the sheep into the sheepfold.

(23) Tykö, nearness, forms postpositions with the genitive which have exactly the same meaning as the corresponding cases of luo. Tyköä, from; työ, to (e.g. minä tulen miehen työ); tykönä, at or with. The form työ is due to the fact that a termination, probably that of the translative, has been lost. It is only used dialectically.

(24) Ulkopuoli (cf. sisäpuoli), the exterior, is used in the adessive, allative, and ablative as either a preposition with the partitive or a postposition with the genitive. Kaupungin ulkopuolella or ulkopuolella kaupunkia, outside the town. Similarly are employed the other cases to express motion to or from the outside of anything.

(25) Vasta, the place opposite anything.

a. Vastassa, postposition with the genitive, means opposite, facing. Hänen vastassansa, opposite him. Toistensa vastassa olevat kaupungit, the cities lie facing each other.

b. Vastaan, postposition with the genitive, has the same meaning with the idea of motion towards added, which however seems to disappear in many metaphorical uses. Mennä isän vastaan, to meet one’s father. Minä en ole sitä vastaan, I am not against that. Tehdä käskyä vastaan, to disobey a command. Sitä vastaan, on the other hand.

c. Vastoin (instructive plural) is a preposition with the partitive, meaning against or contrary to. Vastoin virtaa, tuulta, against the river, the wind. Vastoin tahtoani, against my wish. Älkää pakoittako tyttäriänne vastoin mieltä, do not compel your daughters against their will. Vastoin lakia, against the law.

d. Vasten[17] (instructive singular from a form vasti), preposition or postposition with the partitive, is used in much the same sense as vastoin, but means also (1) about, towards. E.g. älä lyö poikaa vasten silmiä, don’t hit the boy about the eyes. Hän sai vasten silmänsä, he got one in the eye; (2) as a postposition with the genitive it means for, on account of. Moni tekee työtä ainoastansa omaa hyötyänsä vasten, many work only for their own profit. But varten is better in this sense.

e. Vastapäätä is used in the meaning of opposite or vis-à-vis, as a preposition with the partitive. Kirkko on rakennettu vastapäätä raastupaa, the church is opposite the court-house.

(26) Väli, the midst, forms postpositions with the genitive. All the local cases are used: Välissä, välistä, väliin, välillä, välille, välitse. Kirkon ja pappilan välillä on maantie, there is a road between the church and the parsonage. Kansan välitse, through the midst of the people. Sano hänelle suoraan silmien väliin, tell him to his face.

(27) Yli, meaning the place above anything, is used in various forms as a preposition or a postposition with the genitive.

a. Yli (1) as a preposition with the genitive expresses existence above an object; e.g. Pilvet liitävät yli meren, yli maan, the clouds glide over land and sea. Yli päämme on kirkas taivas, the bright heaven is above us. We also find expressions like kello on yli viiden, it is after five o’clock. It also expresses metaphorically pre-eminence. Hän on kunnioitettava yli muiden, he is more honourable than the rest. It is used metaphorically in such expressions as yli wuoden, more than a year; maata yli aikansa, to sleep too long. Yli sen mitä ennen on maksettu, what has been paid in addition to previous payments.

(2) Yli is also used as a postposition with the genitive, and as such expresses motion over a thing, so that the object moving remains temporally above it. Matto on levitetty koko lattian yli, the carpet is spread over all the floor. Hän tuli wähän yli puoliwäliin matkaa, he came a little over half way. Hän katseli olan yli, he looked over his shoulders.

b. Ylitse (prolative) expresses motion over and across an object. Purjehtia meren ylitse, to sail across the sea. Kun pääsisi tämän raskaan ajan ylitse, when one has got over these hard times.

c. Yllä

d. Yltä

e. Ylle

literally expressing rest on, and motion from or to the space above an object, are used as postpositions with the genitive to express the wearing, putting on or taking off of clothes. Pojan yllä on uusi takki, the boy has a new coat on. Hänellä on waatteet yllänsä, he has clothes on. Riisua waatteet yltänsä, to take off one’s clothes. Panna, pukea yllensä; to put on clothes. Cf. oli loassa yltä päältä (adverb), to be dirty from head to foot.

(28) Ympäri, the space surrounding, gives the following forms.

a. Ympäri is used as a postposition with the genitive. Laiva purjehti maan ympäri, the ship sailed round the land. It is also used as a preposition with the genitive or partitive in much the same sense. Riittikö oma leipä ympäri vuoden? is your own corn enough for the year?

b. Ympärillä

c. Ympäriltä

d. Ympärille

are postpositions with the genitive expressing rest in, motion from or to the space round an object. Kuori on puun ympärillä, the tree has bark round it. Panna sontaa puun ympärille, to manure a tree. Metsät ovat kadonneet kaupungin ympäriltä, the forests have been cut down round the town. Miksi on kääre sormesi ympärillä? why have you a bandage on your finger? Ota huivi kaulan ymperiltä, take the handkerchief from round your neck.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES.

As has been explained, the negative in Finnish only exists in combination with the personal pronouns as a negative verb, and there is no word corresponding to no or not. This peculiarity naturally makes the structure of negative sentences different from that of other languages.

(1) The answer ‘no’ to a question must be rendered by the proper person of the negative verb, with or without the root of the verb negative. To the question Tuletteko? are you coming? the negative answer is en tule or en, if one person is referred to, but emme tule or emme, if more than one. Similarly, to tulevatko lapset? are the children coming? the negative reply must be eivät tule or eivät.

(2) If a sentence contains such words as never, no one, nothing, nowhere, etc., they are expressed by using the proper person of the negative verb, with the proper case of the interrogative pronoun or the interrogative adverb, which receive the termination kaan or kään, sometimes shortened into aan or ään. Emme ole nähneet ketäkään or ketään, we have seen no one. Missä olette käyneet? En missäkään, where have you been? Nowhere. Onko hän koska ollut Helsingissä? Ei koskaan (or Ei milloinkaan) has he ever been to Helsingfors? No, never.

(3) It is clear that as the negative is always joined to a personal pronoun, sentences where it qualifies an infinitive in most languages (for instance, it would be better not to go) cannot by any means be rendered literally in Finnish. Such sentences are turned quite differently, the chief device being to use the abessive of inf. III; for instance, I advise you not to go, minä kehoitan teitä, älkää menkö, or olemaan menemättä. Olisi parempi olla kirjoittamatta, it would be better not to write. The house is not sold, talo on myömättä (but ei ole myöty is also possible). The present is not given, lahja on antamatta (or ei ole annettu). You need not go, ei sinun pidä mennä (where ei negatives pidä not mennä), or sinun pitää olla menemättä. You will have to go away and not see your sister, teidän pitää matkustaa pois sisartanne näkemättä.

Sentences are occasionally found where ei apparently negatives an infinitive. E.g. S. John vii. 34, Teidän pitää minua etsimän ja ei löytämän, ye shall seek me and not find me. But this construction is really elliptical for ja ei pidä löytämän.

Nevertheless this use of the negative verb with an infinitive or participle is occasionally found, even in the Kalevala; e.g. xxviii. 262, Sie vanno valat ikuiset ... ei sotia käyäksesi, swear eternal oaths ... that thou willst not go to war. And immediately afterwards, Vannon mie valat vakaiset En kesänä ensimmäisnä ... Saa’a suurihin sotihin, I swear firm oaths that in the first summer ... I will not go to war. Here käyäksesi and saa’a (for käydäksesi and saada) are infinitives constructed with ei and en. In the first passage et would have seemed more natural. So again in xliii. 237, Sanoit et käyväsi sotoa, thou saidst thou wouldst not go to war. As these constructions do not seem capable of being explained by the principles of Finnish syntax, they are probably due to the influence of foreign languages.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES.

If an interrogative sentence does not contain an interrogative pronoun or adverb, its character is marked by adding the particle ko or kö to some word in the sentence. Thus one says menettekö kotiin? are you going home? But in such sentences as mihin menette? or kuka menee? it is unnecessary to use ko, as the sentence already contains a word which makes its interrogative character clear. It will be noticed that this use of ko is exactly similar to that of ли in Russian.

The termination ko, kö is added to the word on which the chief interrogative stress is laid.

Tiedättekö mihin hän on lähtenyt? do you know where he is gone? Isäkö sen sanoi? was it the father who said so? Meritsekö aiotte matkustaa? are you thinking of going by sea?

In a negative question the termination kö is always attached to the negative verb. Ettekö ole nähneet häntä? have you not seen him? Eikö jo lakkaa satamasta? hasn’t it stopped raining yet?

In a disjunctive question the particle ko, kö is attached to the first alternative which is connected with the second by the word vai. Poikako se on vai tyttö? is that a boy or a girl?

But if there are two verbs in the sentence ko or kö is added to each. Onko hän vielä kotona vai läksikö? is he still at home or has he started?

In such a sentence as, Are you coming or not? one can say either Tuletteko vai ette? or, tuletteko vai ettekö tule?

The manner of giving a negative reply has been described above. Though there are two words, ja and niin (instr. plural of se), which can be used for ‘yes,’ the usual way of giving an affirmative reply is, to repeat the word which in the question has ko attached to it. Tuliko pappi? has the priest come? Tuli, yes.

OTHER SENTENCES.

Causal, temporal and consecutative sentences offer no special peculiarities, being introduced by the conjunctions given in the accidence and having the verb in the indicative mood. The particle että is generally combined with the negative verb: etten, ettet, ettei, etc.

Concessive sentences, introduced by vaikka, vaikkapa, or jos kohta, have the verb in either the indicative or the conditional. Hän oli niin köyhä ettei ollut mitä syödä, he was so poor that he had nothing to eat. Vaikka näin häntä usein, kun olin Pietarissa (or Pietarissa olessani), emme kuitenkaan ole tutut, though I often saw him when I was at Petersburg, we were not well acquainted. Vaikka hän vannoisi en sittekään uskoisi, though he should swear I would not believe him.

The first member of a conditional sentence is introduced by jos, or, if negative, by jollen, ellen (jollet, jollei, etc., ellet, ellei, etc.). The second is often introduced by niin. In such sentences as if I go, he will come, where the realization of the condition is considered as certain, the indicative is used—Jos menen niin hän tulee. But where the realization is doubtful the conditional present is employed, and where it is no longer possible the conditional past. If I were to go, he would come, jos menisin, niin hän tulisi. If I had gone, he would have come, jos minä olisin mennyt, niin hän olisi tullut.

Final sentences are introduced by että or jotta, or in the negative form by etten, ettet, ettei, etc. The verb is in the conditional. As has been described above (pp. 192 and 198) final sentences can also be rendered by infinitives and participles. Ilmoittakaat minulle että minäkin tulisin ja kumartaisin häntä (S. Matt. ii. 8), tell me, that I may come and worship him. Hän kävelee ettei vilustuisi, he walks that he may not catch cold.

ORATIO OBLIQUA.

A sentence in oratio obliqua can be rendered by the participial constructions above described, or by a sentence beginning with että, that. In this latter case the sentence is constructed exactly as in English.

Hän sanoi ettei se ole varma, mutta että koettaisi tiedustaa tarkemmin, he said it was not certain, but that he would endeavour to obtain more accurate information. Minä kysyin häneltä oliko hän kuullut että ystäväni oli kuollut ja pyysin että hän kirjoittaisi, I asked him if he had heard that my friend was dead, and begged him to write.

The word muka is often used to denote that a statement rests not on the authority of the speaker but of some one else.

Hän ei tahtonut viipyä: oli muka kovin väsyksissä, he did not want to wait, saying he was very tired. Luulevat hänen veljensä tulevan: hän oli muka kirjoittanut jollekulle, people think his brother is coming: it is said he has written to some one. Hän eroitti palvelijansa se kun oli muka varas, he dismissed his servant because he was a thief (according to his master’s statement).

ON THE DIALECT OF THE KALEVALA.

There are two main dialects of Finnish, the Western, which has produced the modern literary language, and the Eastern, in which the Kalevala is written. There are also many others of which perhaps the most important is that called the Savolaks dialect, which is hardly a literary language, though in the ‘Lönrötin Albumi,’ p. 286, there is a story called ‘Keisarin tuttu’ written in it. It appears to be characterized by a great fondness for the sound of i, which is added to other vowels; e.g. tiällä for täällä, hiän for hän. On the other hand i is often apparently shortened to a semivowel, merely modifying the previous consonant; e.g. olj for oli. The letter d does not occur, but is represented by j or v, meijänni for meidänkin, käyvä for käydä. The dialect would seem to be generally characterized by a soft and rather thick utterance. Olen becomes oun and olette, outta. V is frequently doubled; e.g. hyvvee päivee, and o is often used for a; e.g. mokomoo for mokomaa. So also we have forms like soatanoo for saatanee, pankoo for pankaa. The root of verbs has the letter k added in the negative and imperative forms: en annak, annak.

On the Eastern frontier of Finland and in the adjoining parts of the Russian Government of Olonetz is spoken a dialect called Karelian, which in its present form is much corrupted by the influence of Russia. The Kalevala, however, which was mostly collected in this part of the world, is written in a pure Finnish dialect, which has come to be accepted as the ordinary language of poetical composition.

The chief peculiarities of the dialect of the Kalevala are as follows[18]:—

I. The letter d does not exist. T disappears altogether in the cases where in the ordinary dialect it is softened to d. For instance—saa’a (saada), pöyän (pöydän), tieän (tiedän), tahon (tahdon), kahen (kahden), yhen (yhden), puhas (puhdas), ouoille (oudoille), eellä, eessä (edellä, edessä), sio (sido).

II. Similarly the letter k is dropped altogether when in literary Finnish it either becomes j or remains unchanged.

(1) lk, rk in a closed syllable become simple l and r, not lj, rj: e.g. jälen for jäljen (jälki), kulen for kuljen.

(2) sk and tk, which are not subject to softening in ordinary Finnish, become s and t in closed syllables: kosen for kosken, kaselle for kaskelle, itettävä for itkettävä.

III. rt, lt are not assimilated in the infinitive of verbs of conj. 3: kuulta, surten for kuulla, surren.

IV. The pronominal affixes do not always prevent consonants being softened as in ordinary Finnish: ajansa for aikansa, iäni for ikäni.

V. Where long vowels and diphthongs are the result of contraction, the Kalevala employs dissyllabic forms. These contracted forms in ordinary Finnish may be divided into two classes.

(a) The long vowel is the result of the omission of h (representing an original s or other consonant) between the two component vowels. In such cases the Kalevala always employs the fuller and more primitive forms with h. So we have vierahan for the literary vieraan, kotihin for kotiin, käyähän for käydään (d omitted).

(b) But there are a number of cases where the long vowels aa and ää in ordinary literary Finnish are not the result of the omission of h. Under these circumstances the Kalevala has oa instead of aa and eä instead of ää. Thus the partitive singular of kala is formed by suffixing a—that is kala-a. In ordinary Finnish this gives kalaa (dissyllabic), but in the Kalevala we find kaloa. This form may be compared with the partitive plural, kaloja, where a becomes o in ordinary Finnish. It is to be noted however that the change to oa occurs in the Kalevala even when the vowel of the first syllable is a—oroa for oraa.

The instances of this change fall under three categories:

(1) Partitive cases of nouns and adjectives: aikoa for aikaa, ilmoa for ilmaa, luutoa for luutaa, päiveä for päivää, tereä for terää.

(2) The first infinitive of verbs: ajoa for ajaa, eleä for elää, lenteä for lentää, piteä for pitää.

(3) Contracted verbs of class 3: arvoan for arvaan, lupoan for lupaan, lepeämättä for lepäämättä.

VI. The plural (except the nom.) is sometimes formed with the suffix -loi, before the case suffix. This form is used chiefly in words ending in o, ö, u, y, i, and e; e.g. rekilöitä, ristilöitä, lukkoloita, mahtiloita.

VII. The style of the Kalevala is characterized by the frequent use of derivative forms from nouns ending in o, nen (or onen), yt (or ut), and kainen. These forms have a diminutive or endearing significance. They are mostly quite incapable of translation into English, but correspond to the Russian diminutives. E.g. from emä are formed emo, emonen, and emyt; from isä, iso, isonen, and isyt; from kaunis, kauno, kaunokainen or kaunukainen; from kesä, kesonen and kesyt; from meri, meronen and meryt; from neiti, neitinen, neito, neitonen, neiyt, and neityinen; from puu, puuhut; from päivä, päivönen and päivyt; from veli, velo, vello, veljyt, veijo, veito, veitonen, veikko, and veikkonen.

We also find a great quantity of derivative verbs ending in ella, skella, ahta, alta, etc., in which the exact force of the syllable added is often obscure.

VIII. In verbs the 3rd person sing. of the present is formed with the suffix vi, a weakening of the original pi used in monosyllables. E.g. tekevi, ajattelevi, sanovi, ajavi, kaatelevi. But in monosyllables pi is always used, uipi, saapi.

IX. Some verbal stems ending in a or ä reject this vowel before t, k, n, and are conjugated as if they belonged to the third class. Thus löytää forms the past participle löynnyt for löytänyt: tietää forms concessive tiennen and past part. tiennyt. So seista, seiskaamme, seissut from seiso.

X. In the formation of the passive many verbs ending in ta, tä reject this syllable and also the consonant n, if it precedes. Löytää makes the passive stem löyttä instead of löydettä: rakentaa, raketta for rakennetta: kuumentaa, kuumetta for kuumennetta.

XI. The conjugation of the reflexive verbs (as already mentioned) offers a mass of forms unknown to literary Finnish, which sometimes also occur in verbs which are not strictly reflexive.

The chief terminations found in these verbs are:—

The termination ime is also found in the 1st pers. sing. of the conditional and ihe in the 3rd sing. of the concessive and conditional. The 2nd sing. of the Imper. often ends in te or ite—veäite (vedä itsesi), laskeite, paneite. The inf. of such verbs generally ends in itä; e.g. vetäitä. Rarely are found such forms as kuolkosi, kaotkosi for kuollos, etc.

XII. The negative verb frequently follows instead of preceding the root which it negatives; e.g. oisi en paljo pitänyt, maha et lausua lapiksi.

XIII. The style of the Kalevala is characterized by a general absence of conjunctions and connecting particles, but on the other hand abounds in syllables used merely to give emphasis or quite pleonastically. Such are the suffixes pa, pä, han, hän, kana. The word on is used in the same way; e.g. juop’ on vanha Wäinämöinen. Tuop’ on Pohjolan emäntä sanan virkkoi. Enpä anna tyttöäni.

XIV. A number of other differences from the literary dialect occur, some of which may be classified as follows:—

(1) Contracted essives, where the ordinary language prefers the full form: lasna for lapsena; nuorra for nuorena; suurra for suurena.

(2) In pronouns ma, mä, or mie for minä; sa, sä, sie for sinä; milma, silma for minua, sinua; miusta for minusta; siulle for sinulle, ka or ken for kuka, mi for mikä.

(3) From the verb olla are found oo for ole; oisi for olisi; lie, liet for lienee, lienet; liekkö for lieneekö.

(4) The imperf. ends in ti where in ordinary Finnish it is softened to si: kynti, löyti, kaati, pyyti for kynsi, löysi, kaasi, pyysi.

XV. The syntax of the Kalevala is marked by extreme simplicity in its main features. This is natural in popular poetry, and, besides, the system of versification (short lines of eight syllables generally containing a complete sentence) and the tendency to parallelism and repetition, were all unfavourable to the growth of long and involved phrases. On the other hand, the sentences of the Kalevala are often difficult to understand on account of their irregularity. Not only are the boldest inversions and omissions permitted (e.g. Emo tuosta itkemähän for rupesi itkemähän), but words are frequently strung together in so loose a manner that, though the thought is plain, it is almost impossible to analyse the sentence grammatically. For instance, xl. 401, Anna luoja, suo Jumala, Anna onni ollaksemme, Hyvin ain’ eleäksemme, kunnialla kuollaksemme. This clearly means, grant that we may be prosperous, live well and die gloriously, but it is almost impossible to explain it grammatically. Such a tendency to be more careful of the general sense than of the separate words and their correct relation to one another, is very natural in a poem whose authors were ignorant of grammar and had probably no written literature before them. It is accompanied in the Kalevala by a habit of repeating the same idea under numerous synonyms for the sake of emphasis and of creating new words for the sake of parallelism or alliteration, which have sometimes a meaning and bear testimony to the flexibility and fecundity of the language, but sometimes are absolutely unmeaning. Thus in Kal. xi. 55 we have Enkä lähe Inkerelle, Penkerelle, pänkerelle. Here pänkerelle means nothing at all, but is simply a kind of repetition of penkerelle. Similarly Kal. xlviii. 100, Ihveniä, ahvenia, Tuimenia, taimenia. Ihveniä and Tuimenia are meaningless words.