pääverbin

Pääverbin is a Finnish grammar term for the main verb of a predicate. It is the lexical verb that carries the core semantic content of the verb phrase, while auxiliary verbs and non-finite forms provide additional grammatical information such as tense, aspect, mood, or voice. In a clause, the main verb serves as the center of the predicate, and its form is influenced by subject and, in finite clauses, by person and number.

In Finnish, verb phrases often combine a main verb with auxiliary elements. The primary auxiliary is olla (to be), used in compound tenses such as the perfect or pluperfect, where the main verb appears in a non-finite form (for example, a past participle). For instance, in olen kirjoittanut kirjeen, kirjoittanut is a past participle derived from the main verb kirjoittaa (to write), and olla provides the tense information. The main verb thus remains the lexical core, while the auxiliary helps express time and aspect.

The main verb also participates in simple, finite forms where it is inflected for tense, mood, person, and number. Negation and question formation typically involve inflected finite forms of the main verb, or its non-finite forms in combination with negation particles or question particles. Finnish verbs exhibit a wide range of non-finite forms derived from the main verb, such as present or past participles, which function within the predicate together with the auxiliary.

Overall, the concept of pääverbin emphasizes the lexical verb as the essential element of predication in Finnish, contrasted with auxiliary elements that modify or complete the meaning.