Real spoken Finnish for Some of It, Not All of It, with the written form (kirjakieli) beside every line, word-by-word notes and audio on every sentence. Free to read.
The partitive: kahvia, vettä, kaks pullaa
The partitive marks a part rather than a whole, and it turns up far more often than learners expect: anything uncountable (kahvia, vettä), anything after a number above one (kaks pullaa), anything you're partway through, and everything you negate. There's no English equivalent to translate from. Endings are -a/-ä, or -ta/-tä after a consonant - and in speech an -a after a vowel usually just lengthens it: kahvia → kahvii, maitoa → maitoo.
Mä juon kahvii joka aamu. = I drink coffee every morning.
Mä otan kaks pullaa. = I'll take two buns.
Mul ei oo rahaa. = I don't have any money.
Mä juon kahvii joka aamu.
I drink coffee every morning.
Written Finnish: Minä juon kahvia joka aamu.
mä
I
juon
drink
kahvii
coffee - partitive 'kahvia', spoken as kahvii. Coffee is a mass, so it's partitive by default
joka
every
aamu
morning
Onks teil maitoo?
Do you have milk?
Written Finnish: Onko teillä maitoa?
onks
is there / do you have - spoken 'onko'
teil
you (plural/polite) have - 'teillä', clipped in speech
maitoo
milk - partitive 'maitoa'. Asking for an amount, not one specific carton
Mä otan kaks pullaa.
I'll take two buns.
Written Finnish: Minä otan kaksi pullaa.
mä
I
otan
take
kaks
two - spoken 'kaksi'
pullaa
bun - partitive singular. After any number but one, Finnish uses the singular partitive, never a plural
Mul ei oo rahaa.
I don't have any money.
Written Finnish: Minulla ei ole rahaa.
mul
I have - 'minulla', clipped in speech
ei
not
oo
be - spoken 'ole'
rahaa
money - partitive 'rahaa'. Negation always takes the partitive
Täs on vähän juustoo.
Here's a bit of cheese.
Written Finnish: Tässä on vähän juustoa.
täs
here - spoken 'tässä'
on
is
vähän
a little - quantity words pull the partitive after them
juustoo
cheese - partitive 'juustoa'
Mä odotan sua kirjaston edes.
I'm waiting for you in front of the library.
Written Finnish: Minä odotan sinua kirjaston edessä.
mä
I - spoken 'minä'
odotan
am waiting for - odottaa ALWAYS takes the partitive, whatever you mean
sua
you - partitive of 'sä' (sinua in writing)
kirjaston
of the library
edes
in front of - spoken 'edessä'
Saisinks vähän lisää vettä?
Could I get a bit more water?
Written Finnish: Saisinko vähän lisää vettä?
saisinks
could I get - spoken 'saisinko'
vähän
a little
lisää
more
vettä
water - partitive of 'vesi'. An everyday irregular worth knowing cold
Mä en juo olutta.
I don't drink beer.
Written Finnish: Minä en juo olutta.
mä
I - spoken 'minä'
en
don't - the negative verb, 1st person
juo
drink - bare stem after the negative
olutta
beer - partitive 'olutta'. Consonant-final words take -ta/-tä, not plain -a
Meil on kolme lasta.
We have three children.
Written Finnish: Meillä on kolme lasta.
meil
we have - 'meillä', clipped in speech
on
have - 'meil on' is the spoken 'we have'
kolme
three
lasta
child - partitive of 'lapsi'. Another everyday irregular: lapsi → lasta
Mä luen tota kirjaa viel.
I'm still reading that book.
Written Finnish: Minä luen tuota kirjaa vielä.
mä
I - spoken 'minä'
luen
am reading
tota
that - spoken 'tuota', itself partitive
kirjaa
book - partitive, because you're partway through it. 'Mä luen kirjan' would mean you'll finish it