Appendix:Finnish nominal forms

All nouns, adjectives (including different degrees of comparison), pronouns, numerals and participles can be inflected using nominal cases.

Nominative
The "default", unmarked case for words.

Ending: (nominative plural only). The nominative singular is unmarked, except for nominals with the suffix which have a distinct nominative singular.

Uses include:
 * The dictionary form is the nominative singular, or the nominative plural if no singular forms exist.
 * For subjects in a sentence:.
 * For predicatives:.
 * For certain attributes, such as titles:.
 * For addressing someone:.
 * In the nominativus absolutus:.

Accusative
Used primarily for direct objects.

Ending: (singular, but see below),  (plural or personal pronouns only)

Only the personal pronouns (and the interrogative /) have their own accusative forms, ending in.

For all other nominals, the accusative form is identical to either the nominative ("nominative-accusative" or "unmarked accusative") or the genitive ("genitive-accusative" or "marked accusative").

The nominative-accusative is used:
 * in the plural (the genitive plural is never used as an accusative form)
 * with a verb in the imperative mood (except for third-person imperatives)
 * with an impersonal ("passive") verb (arguably syntactically a subject)
 * with a verb in the first infinitive (dictionary form), if it is used independently without a main verb (otherwise the alignment is as with the main verb)
 * with some passive/reflexive verb structures, like
 * for cardinal numerals (except for )

and the genitive-accusative in all other cases.

Uses include:
 * The total object of a action (cf. partitive): ,
 * Nominative-accusative:
 * For object-like adverbials of quantity:
 * for expressing a period of time for the duration of an action ("for"): ,
 * for expressing a quantity ("by", "for"): ,
 * for expressing times, instances, occurrences:

Note that the accusative is replaced with the partitive in negative sentences.

Not all grammars (particularly 21st century ones) recognize the accusative as a distinct case outside the few cases where it has its own forms. According to this interpretation, uses of the 'nominative-accusative' and the 'genitive-accusative' are uses of the nominative and genitive cases instead respectively.

Genitive
Ending:. In the plural, multiple different genitive plural suffixes exist depending on the inflection class. Variants include, , , ,.

Uses include:
 * Possessive genitive
 * Ownership, possession or similar relation:, , , ,.
 * With personal pronouns, may be replaced or used in combination with a possessive suffix
 * Extensions of the possessive genitive
 * Meronymy: ,
 * Holonymy:
 * Indicating quantity or point of comparison:
 * Certain other grammatical uses in which the suffix may be replaced or used in combination with a possessive suffix:
 * Subject of certain infinitive or participial structures: ,
 * Agent of an agent participle structure:
 * Indicating the degree of a quality or property:
 * With many postpositions: ,
 * With surnames (informal): [= ]
 * Subject genitive, subject of verbal nouns or action nouns:
 * Object genitive, object of verbal nouns or action nouns:
 * The "dative" genitive, now restricted to certain cases (but used more widely in older Finnish):
 * Recipient of an action in certain verb phrases:
 * Subject with verb structures indicating necessity:
 * Subject as the recipient of an emotion or a sensation:
 * Fixed expressions:, once upon a time literally "thanks be to God"

Partitive
Ending:, ( in the singular only), depending on the inflectional stem. In the plural, the suffix is attached to the plural infix as usual, but a vowel may turn into a glide ( + &rarr; ).

Uses include:
 * The object of an (unfinished) action:
 * The object of verbs that are chiefly atelic:
 * The partial object of an action:
 * The meaning would be different with the accusative:
 * The meaning would be different with the accusative:
 * The meaning would be different with the nominativaccusative/e:
 * The object in negative sentences:
 * The object in questions where the answer may still be or is expected to be negative:
 * Uncountable, indefinite predicatives:
 * In place of the nominative singular for nominals quantified with a numeral (if that numeral is not one):
 * With some quantifying adverbs:
 * With a possessive suffix, indicates reason or cause:
 * With most prepositions and some postpositions: ,
 * Indicating point of comparison:
 * Indicating the whole that a part (expressed in a locative case) belongs to:
 * For object-like adverbials of quantity (see accusative) in negative sentences:, ,
 * Uses restricted to certain words:
 * manner:
 * (period of) time: ,
 * In the partitivus absolutus (quite rare in modern language):
 * For object-like adverbials of quantity (see accusative) in negative sentences:, ,
 * Uses restricted to certain words:
 * manner:
 * (period of) time: ,
 * In the partitivus absolutus (quite rare in modern language):

The partitive form is also identical to the separative case found in some adverbs with the meaning "from", "out of".

Internal locative cases
These cases indicate location. Some of the cases have additional, non-trivial functions.

Inessive
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating location, "in":
 * Indicating time:
 * Indicating place or attachment:
 * Indicating state or being covered or enveloped by:
 * Indicating ongoing action with some verbal nouns (not with ):
 * indicating inalienable possessions or features:

Note:
 * compare the adessive
 * compare the adessive

Elative
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating motion out of, "out of", "from":
 * Indicating source material, "(out) of":
 * Indicating that something is missing, "(out) of":
 * Indicating a topic or subject (for discussion), "of", "about":
 * Indicating the holder of an opinion:
 * Indicating a price or something given in exchange, "for":
 * Indicating time, especially when emphasizing it as the earliest time possible for something:
 * Indicating holding onto:
 * Indicating cause, reason, "of", "due to": ,
 * Indicating prevention, "from":

Illative
Ending:, , , depending on the inflectional class (the V corresponds to the preceding vowel).

Uses include:
 * Indicating motion into, "to", "into", "in":
 * Indicating direction:
 * Indicating a target state:
 * Indicating something that is started or begun:
 * Indicating extent up to:
 * Indicating grasping, grabbing, "onto":
 * Indicating the target of an inchoative action, particularly one that involves emotions or feelings:
 * Indicating the target of some action, particularly an inanimate object that one strives to do something for:
 * Indicating the cause of some actions:
 * Indicating the capability or what something is good "for":
 * Indicating manner with some adverbs and adjectives:

Adessive
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating a location on top of something, "on":
 * Indicating an approximate or rough location, "at":, ,
 * Indicating possession:
 * Indicating certain feelings or sensations:
 * Indicating a tool or an instrument, "with": ,
 * Indicating the agent of causative or curative verbs:
 * Indicating a cause or motive:
 * Indicating means: ,
 * Indicating state of being:
 * Indicating time with some nouns:
 * Indicating quantity, "by":
 * Indicating something that comes with something else (proscribed, but common):

Ablative
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating motion away from on top of something:
 * Indicating motion away from an approximate or rough location: (but not from inside the car), ,
 * Indicating from whom something is received, requested or taken away:, ,
 * Indicating the patient of some actions:
 * Indicating a state of being that will cease to be:
 * Indicating a quantity relative to some other (usually regular) quantity: ,
 * Indicating time: ,
 * Indicating appearance or apparent property:, ,
 * In expressions discussing some aspect of something, "by":
 * Indicating a cause or reason:

Allative
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating motion onto, on top of something:
 * Indicating motion towards an approximate or rough location: ,
 * Indicating direction:
 * Indicating to whom something is given: ,
 * Indicating a state of being that will be:
 * Indicating the target to whom something suits or does not suit:
 * Indicating appearance or apparent property (same as ablative; the choice between the two is personal, but using allative risks ambiguity):

Abstract locative cases
These cases indicate being or becoming.

Essive
Ending:.

Uses include:
 * Indicating state, "as":, , , ,
 * To represent a unit for a quantity, "in": ,
 * Indicating time:, ,

The essive form is also identical to the locative case found in some adverbs with the meaning "in", "at".

Translative
Ending: ( with a possessive suffix).

Uses include:
 * Indicating assuming or entering a state:, , , ,
 * Indicating a state that is perceived but not correct:
 * Indicating manner: ,
 * Indicating a point of reference or a comparison, "for": ,
 * Indicating time that is a deadline or target: ,
 * Indicating purpose (including the first infinitive):
 * With present participles, indicating purpose:
 * With past participles, indicating an action that was carried out inadvertently:
 * In some adverbs, motion towards: ,
 * In the long first infinitive

Rare cases
These cases are not as productive, especially in the colloquial language.

Abessive
Ending:.

Means "without". Using is more common in the modern language, and abessive forms are generally restricted to fixed expressions. Abessive forms of the third infinitive remain common, however.

Instructive
Ending:.

The instructive indicates a tool, instrument or manner. It is for the most part constrained to certain fixed expressions, and the adessive case is much more commonly used to mark a tool or instrument. Possessive forms are only used in practice in a single expression.

There is quite a bit of tendency to use two words with instructives:, , , , , , ,.

However, single-word instructives exist as well:, , ,. Many of them are lexicalized, e.g., , , ,.

There are some cases where the attribute has a different case:, , ,.

Comitative
Ending: (+ possessive suffix with nouns).

Corresponds to the English preposition with (usually in the sense of bringing something along). No singular form exists. A possessive suffix is added to the inflected form, except for the attribute (often an adjective).

The postposition is much more common in general use, though.

Adverbial cases
Only a small number of words, mostly pronouns, inflect in the adverbial cases. As the name suggests, the inflected words are adverbs. See Appendix:Finnish adverbial cases for full information.

Possessive suffixes
See Appendix:Finnish possessive suffixes.

Number
The rules regarding number (singular or plural) in Finnish are roughly the same as those of English: singular for one, plural for every other quantity. However, there are also differences: for example, the plural form isn't necessarily used of multiple things if the number is specified (see Partitive).