Partitive

1   Case Endings

The essive ending is -a/-ä or -ta/-tä both in the singular and in the plural. Because of vowel harmony the endings have two variants.

2   Formation

The partitive singular is formed using the partitive stem and the partitive plural using the strong-grade plural stem. If the partitive stem ends in a consonant or two or more vowels, the partitive ending is -ta/-tä in the singular. Otherwise the ending is -a/-ä.

If a word ends in two or more vowels, a consonant, or a relic consonant, and the strong-grade plural stem ends in two vowels, the partitive ending is -ta/-tä in the plural. Otherwise the ending is -a/-ä. The plural marker i becomes j between vowels. In the following tables, words have been devided into six groups according to which partitive ending they take in the singular and the plural.

A word ends in two or more vowels.

A word ends in a single vowel, and the partitive stem ends in a consonant. All these words undergo the vowel change i ~ e.

A word ends in a single vowel, and the partitive stem also ends in a vowel.

A word ends in a consonant, and the partitive stem ends in a vowel. This group only includes some words ending in n and all loan words. The plural marker i becomes j between vowels.

A word ends in a consonant, the partitive stem ends in a consonant, and the strong-grade plural stem ends in a single vowel.

A word ends in a consonant or a relic consonant, the partitive stem ends in a consonant, and the strong-grade plural stem ends in a diphthong.