Adjektiivipäätteet

Adjektiivipäätteet are grammatical suffixes attached to adjectives in Finnish to indicate their agreement with the noun they modify. This agreement is based on the noun's case, number, and in some instances, the definiteness of the noun phrase. Finnish has a rich case system, and adjectives must adopt the correct ending to match the case of the noun they describe. For example, the nominative singular form of an adjective, such as "kaunis" (beautiful), will change its ending in other cases like genitive ("kauniin"), partitive ("kaunista"), or illative ("kauniiseen").

The number of the noun also dictates the adjective's ending. Adjectives agree in number with their head nouns, meaning they will have a singular form when modifying a singular noun and a plural form when modifying a plural noun. For instance, "pieni talo" (small house) becomes "pienet talot" (small houses).

Furthermore, the definiteness of the noun phrase influences adjective agreement, particularly in the genitive case. When the noun is definite and in the genitive case, the adjective often takes a specific genitive plural ending, even if the noun is singular. For example, "kirjan sivut" (the book's pages) uses the genitive plural form of the adjective if one were present. Understanding adjektiivipäätteet is crucial for constructing grammatically correct Finnish sentences.