sentence structure & word order
SPOTPA (Subjekti Predikaatti Objekti Tapa Paikka Aika)
Word order
Subject Verb Object (SVO)
Syntax refers to the form and sequence in which words are put together to make sentences. In English the subject S always comes before the verb V and the object O afterwards. In English it is absolutely critical as English does not have case forms specific to the object, except for personal pronouns. In English, the sequence is subject, verb, and object (SVO).
SVO is the word order in standard sentences even in Finnish. But because Finnish has inflectional grammar, word order can be free but not random. Word order expresses nuances. For example,If you change an English sentence John loves Lysa to Lysa loves John. the story changes. In Finnish the first sentence would be Jussi rakastaa Liisaa and the second one Liisa rakastaa Jussia. But the second one could also read Jussia Liisa rakastaa. So even if we changed the order from SVO to OSV the story does not change. Because the direct object is marked by its partitive case, the meaning does not change. It is still the same story, it is quite clear that Jussi is the object of Liisa's love. However, there is also a difference in Finnish between the two sentences. While the first SVO syntax is a neutral statement, the meaning of the second OSV sentence seems to be a protest: 'It is Jussi whom Liisa loves (and not anyone else).
The basic syntax of a Finnish sentence is the following:
SPOTPA
Subjekti Predikaatti Objekti Tapa Paikka Aika
Who? Does sthng? Does what? How? Where? When?
Poika juoksee. The boy runs.
Poika lyö palloa. The boy hits the ball.
Poika lyö palloa lujaa. The boy hits the ball hard.
Poika lyö palloa lujaa kentällä. The boy hits the ball hard on the field.
Poika lyö palloa lujaa kentällä tänään. The boy hits the ball hard. on the field today.
'to have'
Finnish expresses possession, 'to have' in English, using 'there is/there are' syntax. This includes having concrete things, as well as having a state of being, as in to be cold, hungry, busy, etc.
Sulla on uusi auto. Literally There is a car by you, but in standard English You have a new car.
Mulla on kylmä. I'm cold. But if you tried a direct translation from English as Mä oon kylmä which means I'm frigid you may not find a love partner!!
Suomessa ei ole senaattia. Finland does not have a senate.
Näin on
Existential sentences
'there is/there are'
An existential clause is one using the verb to declare the existence or place of some subject not previously spoken about. There is never an object in an existential statement, so only intransitive verbs appear in existential sentences. The English SV word order dictates that the adverbial aspect is at the end of an English sentence, whereas Finnish always puts the adverbial of place or time first in an existential clause. So although Finnish is often more relaxed than English about word order, the Finnish existential clause word order is always Adv-V-S.
English uses "there is" for one item (singular nouns and for non-count items (may or may not add some or any). but "there are" for many items (plural nouns). In Finnish existential sentences the verb is always in the 3rd person singular even when there is more than one item. The verb does not have to be just olla. All verbs may be used to express where things are, things are not, or things move to or from. Moreover, possession is also expressed using locative Adv-V-S sentences.
Suomessa on presidentti. There is a president in Finland or Finland has a president.
Presidentti on Suomessa. The president is in Finland.
Onko sun asunnossa saunaa? Is there a sauna in your apartment?
Torille tulee konsertti. There will be a concert coming to the town square.
Tuleeko kouluun paljon uusia opiskelijoita? Will there be many new students coming to the school?
Risteilylle lähtee tuhansia ihmisiä. There are thousands of people going on a cruise.
Paidasta lähti nappi. A button in the shirt fell off.
Lappiin tulee paljon turisteja Kiinasta. There are a lot of tourists coming to Lappland from China.
Note the Adv-V-S word order even in an existential question.
Missä on kahvila? Where is there a cafe? But
Missä kahvila on? Where is the cafe?
But if you use the S V word order, you should not be surprised when a Finn starts asking which cafe you mean!
Necessity sentences
'must, have to, have got to'
In Finnish there are several verbs that express necessity: täytyy, pitää, tarttee and on pakko and are always in the third person singular form. The second verb is always in the infinitive. On pakko is the strongest necessity and pitää the weakest. The subject of a necessity sentence is in genitive -n form. A non-countable object is in partitive, but in nominative in all other cases. Wait a minute, even negating a necessity is unusual: ei tarvitse, ei tartte.
Mun pitää oppia suomea. I have to learn Finnish.
Sun täytyy ostaa lippu. You must buy the ticket.
Suomen on pakko sopia Venäjän kanssa. Finland must agree with Russia.
Mikon ei tartte muuttaa pois Washingtonista, Mikko does not have to move away from Washington.
Intermediate
Non-existential vs. existential sentence
A normal, non-existential sentence follows the SVO word order, and begins with a subject, which is previously known. In contrast, an existential sentence will usually begin with an adverbial of location or time and the new unknown subject will be at the end of the sentence, Therefore the word order is Adv-V-S in existential sentences which always answer a question: what is there, what will be there, what is there no more.
Mereen valui öljyä. There was some oil leaking into the sea.
Öljy valui mereen. The oil leaked into the sea.
Sodassa tuhoutui vanhankaupungin arvokkaita rakennuksia. There were some old-town valuable buildings that got destroyed in the war.
Vanhankaupungin arvokkaat rakennukset tuhoutuivat sodassa. The old-town valuable buildings were destroyed in the war.
Existential verbs
Always an intransitive verb in the singular third person.
Typical existential verbs are:
Tulee olemaan: tulla, syntyä, ilmestyä, nousta, kasvaa, aiheutua, kokoontua, kerääntyä, muodostua, jäädä, pudota, kaatua, valua. Paikan tai ajan adverbiin tulee -Vn tai -lle.
Kaduille kerääntyi paljon ihmisiä mielenosoitukseen. There were a lot of people gathering in the streets for a demonstration.
Heinäkuussa kaupunkiin ei jää ketään. There are no people staying in the city in July.
On: olla, asua, elää, seisoa, istua, maata, lojua, tungeksia, näkyä. Paikan tai ajan adverbiin tulee -ssa tai -lla.
Suomessa eli ihmisiä monta tuhatta vuotta sitten. Thene were people living in Finland many thousand years ago.
Ei enää ole: kuolla, menehtyä, tuhoutua, hävitä, kadota, hukkua. Paikan tai ajan adverbiin tulee -sta tai -lta.
Viikonloppuna hukkui monta veneilijää. There were many boaters drowning over the weekend.
Koivuissa on tänä vuonna isot lehdet. Birches have big leaves this year.
Advanced
Lauseet_ja_virkkeet.pptAll in Finnish.
Extensive, complete. All in Finnish.