partisiivi

Partitiivi, or partitive, is a Finnish grammatical case used to mark objects that are incomplete, indefinite, or part of a larger whole. It is also employed to express non-finality in actions, to indicate quantities that are not fully specified, and to mark objects after negation or certain prepositions. The form is created with various suffixes attached to the noun, and the exact ending depends on the stem and vowel harmony.

The partitive has several central functions. It marks the object of actions that are not fully carried out or are considered in a non-definite sense, such as "Ostan kahvia" (I buy coffee, in general) or "Luen kirjaa" (I am reading a book, some of it). It is used with mass nouns and uncountable quantities, for example "vettä" (water), "maitoa" (milk), and "vahvaa kahvia" (strong coffee). It also appears in negative sentences, where the object is typically in the partitive, as in "En näe autoa" or "En syö omenaa" (I do not see a car / I do not eat an apple).

In addition, the partitive occurs after certain prepositions and in expressions indicating partial possession or need, such as "ilman maitoa" (without milk) or "tarvitsen rahaa" (I need money). Because the partitive forms vary with stem type and vowel harmony, there is a wide range of endings, but the common function remains the same: to signal indefiniteness, partiality, or non-completion in the object of a verb. The partitive is one of the most frequently used cases in Finnish, essential for expressing quantity, aspect, and negation.