ongelmaa

Ongelmaa is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun ongelma, which means problem or trouble. In standard Finnish, ongelma is a native word used in everyday speech and writing, and its inflected forms reflect the language’s case system. The form ongelmaa appears specifically in the partitive case, most notably after negation or with certain quantifiers and expressions of an indefinite amount.

The partitive singular ongelmaa is most commonly seen in negated clauses, as in Minulla ei ole ongelmaa, which translates to I do not have a problem. By contrast, the affirmative, non-negated form uses the nominative singular ongelma (Minulla on ongelma). When talking about multiple problems, the partitive plural form is used: Meillä on paljon ongelmia means We have many problems. The partitive singular is also used after verbs that express ongoing, non-countable, or indefinite effects, for example Se aiheuttaa ongelmaa, meaning It causes trouble or It causes a problem.

Etymology-wise, ongelma is a standard Finnish noun and forms its case endings in the regular Finnish pattern. Ongoing usage covers a range of contexts from everyday statements to formal writing. Its related forms include ongelmia (partitive plural: problems) and ongelman (genitive: of the problem), which are used in phrases like ongelman ratkaisu (the solution of the problem).

In summary, ongelmaa is a key grammatical form that signals an indefinite or negated instance of a problem in Finnish, while other forms (ongelma, ongelmia, ongelman) handle different grammatical roles.