Partitiivvorm

Partitiivvorm, or partitive form, is the inflected form used in some Finnic languages to express partiality, indefinite quantity, or non-completed action. It is not a single universal category but a set of forms tied to a particular grammatical function within a language’s morphology, most notably in Finnish and Estonian.

In Finnish and Estonian alike, the partitive serves several related functions. It marks objects that are not complete wholes, expresses non-specific or fractional quantities, and is commonly used with verbs of negation, where the object of the negated action takes the partitive. It is also used with mass nouns and with certain verbs that convey ongoing or non-finalized actions, where the exact quantity or completion is not defined.

A common illustration from Finnish shows the partitive with food: syön leipää, I am eating bread; en syö leipää, I do not eat bread. Here, leipää is the partitive form of leipä, reflecting the non-complete or indefinite quantity of bread involved in the action or its negation. The exact shape of the partitive form varies by language and noun class, and its use is integrated into the broader system of noun inflection for each language.

The concept of a partitive form is central to understanding how these languages encode partiality and non-specific quantity within sentences. It is a key topic in Finnish grammar, Estonian grammar, and broader discussions of nominal inflection in Finnic languages. See also Partitive case, Finnish grammar, and Estonian grammar.