partisiiviadjektiivi

Partisiiviadjektiivi refers to adjectives that are inflected to the partitive case in Finnish grammar. These adjectives modify a noun that is in the partitive and thus carry the same case and number as the noun. The partitive is used to indicate indefiniteness, partial quantity, or ongoing situations, and adjectives in this function agree with the noun accordingly.

Morphology is straightforward but essential. In the singular partitive, adjectives typically take the ending -a or -ä, for example isoa taloa meaning a big house. In the plural partitive, adjectives take endings like -ia or -iä, as in isoja taloja meaning some big houses. The corresponding nouns also appear in partitive forms such as taloa (singular) and taloja (plural). The combination is a standard pattern in Finnish noun phrase inflection where both adjective and noun reflect the same case and number.

Usage notes. Partisiiviadjektiivit are common after numerals, in negative clauses, and in contexts expressing quantity or approximation. They also occur with demonstratives when the noun phrase remains indefinite. The presence of a determiner or numeral can influence whether the strong or weak inflection of the adjective is used, but the partitive forms -a/-ä for singular and -ia/-iä for plural are typical for partitive constructions.

Examples include: isoa taloa (a big house, partitive singular), isoja taloja (some big houses, partitive plural), kolmea isoa taloa or kolme isoa taloa meaning three big houses, and En osta isoa taloa (I will not buy a big house, with the object in partitive). These forms illustrate how partitiiviadjektiivit function in everyday Finnish grammar.

See also: Finnish grammar, Partitive case, Adjective inflection.