ABSTRACT

This second edition of Finnish: An Essential Grammar has undergone profound revisions. The chapter on basic sentence structure has been rewritten and syntax has been given more space. Sections have been added on phrase types, simple clause types, and types of complex sentences. A section on discourse particles has been added. The vocabulary of the copious example sentences has been updated to give it a touch of the twenty-first century.

The section on modern colloquial Finnish has been considerably expanded. Internet addresses helpful for any learner of Finnish are provided which make is possible to automatically analyse the grammatical structure of any Finnish words and sentences.

It gives not only a systematic account of the structures of the written language, but also features the characteristics of colloquial Finnish. No prior knowledge is assumed on the part of the reader and grammatical rules are clearly explained without jargon.

Features include:

  • pronunciation guide, including the tendencies in present-day colloquial Finnish
  • thorough descriptions of morphology (word structure) and syntax (sentence structure)
  • clear rules and an abundance of concrete examples
  • inflection tables
  • subject index
  • internet addresses to online software for grammatical analysis of Finnish.

This is the ideal reference source both for those studying Finnish independently and for students in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|12 pages

Pronunciation and sound structure

chapter 3|15 pages

Word structure

chapter 4|23 pages

Two important sound alternations

chapter 5|22 pages

The declension of nominals

chapter 6|12 pages

The conjugation of verbs

chapter 7|24 pages

Sentence structure

chapter 8|24 pages

The nominative case and the partitive case

chapter 10|20 pages

The six local cases

chapter 11|7 pages

Other cases

chapter 12|10 pages

Numerals

chapter 13|20 pages

Pronouns

chapter 14|14 pages

Tenses

chapter 15|13 pages

Moods

chapter 16|14 pages

The passive

chapter 17|15 pages

Infinitives

chapter 18|22 pages

Participles

chapter 19|8 pages

Comparison of adjectives

chapter 20|20 pages

Other word classes

chapter 21|18 pages

Word formation

chapter 22|11 pages

The colloquial spoken language