Whole or Partial? The Object

Finnish has no word for "the", yet it still tells apart "I read the book (all of it)" from "I am reading at a book (some, ongoing)". It does this with the object ending. Use the total object (genitive -n in the singular) when the action is complete and affects the whole thing. Use the partitive when the action is ongoing, partial, or about "some" — and always after a negative.

The two objects

Choose the object

Partitive verbs

Some verbs describe feelings or ongoing states and always take a partitive object, no matter what: rakastaa (to love), odottaa (to wait for), katsoa (to watch), auttaa (to help).

Say it yourself

Match the verb