From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The basic meaning of the Partitive case is "partialness".
In the Finnish language, it's used in the following circumstances, with the characteristic ending of "a" or "ta":
- After numbers: "kolme taloa" -> "three houses"
- For incomplete actions and ongoing processes: "luen kirjaa" -> "I'm reading a book"
- After certain verbs, particularly those indicating emotions: "rakastan tätä taloa" -> "I love this house"
- For tentative enquiries: "saanko lainata kirjaa?" -> "can I borrow the book?"
- In places where English would use "some" or "any": "onko teillä kirjoja?" -> "do you have any books?"
- For negative statements: "talossa ei ole kirjaa" -> "there is not a book in the house"
