perusnominatiivi

Perusnominatiivi refers to the basic nominative case in Finnish grammar. It is the unmarked form of a noun and is used in several grammatical functions. The most common use of the perusnominatiivi is to indicate the subject of a sentence. For example, in the sentence "Mies lukee kirjaa" (The man is reading a book), "mies" is in the perusnominatiivi and functions as the subject.

Another function of the perusnominatiivi is to indicate the object of a sentence when the object is indefinite or generic. This contrasts with the accusative case, which is used for definite or specific objects. For instance, "Näen koiran" (I see a dog) uses the perusnominatiivi for "koira" because it refers to any dog. However, "Näen sen koiran" (I see that dog) would use a different case for "koira" to indicate definiteness.

The perusnominatiivi is also used after the verb "olla" (to be) when it functions as a predicate nominative. In the sentence "Hän on opiskelija" (He/She is a student), "opiskelija" is in the perusnominatiivi. It is also used in certain exclamations and vocative constructions, though these are less common. The plural form of the perusnominatiivi is formed by adding the suffix "-t" to the stem of the word, such as "miehet" (men) or "koirat" (dogs). Understanding the perusnominatiivi is fundamental to constructing grammatically correct Finnish sentences.