The table on page 33 shows how consonant gradation applies to the word
katu ‘street’, wher the alternation is of type (5); t changes to d. The
examples are given in the familiar way; the actual word form is written on the
right, followed by the reason for the occurrence or non-occurrence of the
alternation.
The nominative plural ending -t also causes consonant gradation. This
form shows both number and case. In accordance with the basic rule,
alternation occurs only before short vowels. The vowels of diphthongs are
short, and therefore there is usually alternation before a diphthong: kato/
lla ‘on the roof’ ~ kato/i/lla ‘on the roofs’. The latter form has the
diphthong -oi, before which consonant gradation occurs. (However, the
type renka/i/ssa ‘in the rings’ is an exception to this diphthong rule: see
below.)
Before long vowels the rules of consonant gradation do not apply, even if
the case ending does consist of one consonant or begin with two. Nominals
with an inflectional stem ending in a long vowel (§19, §20.3) are unaffected
by consonant gradation in almost all singular and plural case forms, including
those wher the otherwise long stem vowel shortens before the plural ending
-i (§16). The examples below illustrate what happens in the inflection of
rengas : renkaa- ‘ring’.
32 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
Singular Plural
renkaa/n of the ring renkaa/t rings
renkaa/ssa in the ring renka/i/ssa in the rings
renkaa/sta out of the ring renka/i/sta out of the rings
renkaa/lla with the ring renka/i/lla with the rings
renkaa/na as a ring renka/i/na as rings
renkaa/seen into the ring renka/i/siin into the rings
renkaa/lta from the ring renka/i/lta from the rings
In these words the vowel preceding the plural i counts as long because it is
long in almost all the corresponding singular forms.
In words of the rengas : renkaa- type consonant gradation does apply,
however, in two case forms: the nominative singular, which ends either in a
short vowel+s (§20.3) or in -e (§19), and the partitive singular; occasionally
also the genitive plural. Cf. rengas ‘ring’ (nom. sing.), rengas/ta (part, sing.),
rengas/ten (gen. pl.). Further examples of this type (the basic form is the
nominative singular):
Alternation Stem Basic form Meaning
(1) pp ~ p saappaa- saapas boot
(2) tt ~ t rattaa- ratas wheel
(3) kk ~ k rakkaa- rakas dear
(4) p ~ v varpaa- varvas toe
(5) t ~ d hitaa- hidas slow
(6) ht ~ hd tehtaa- tehdas factory
(7) k ~ Ø kokee- koe experiment
(8) mp ~ mm lampaa- lammas lamb
(9) nt ~ nn kintaa- kinnas mitten
(10) nk ~ ng kuninkaa- kuningas king
(11) lt ~ ll altaa- allas basin
(12) rt ~ rr portaa- porras step
(13) lke ~ lje hylkee- hylje seal
(15) hke ~ hje pohkee- pohje calf (of leg)
We thus have saapas ‘boot’ (nom. sing.) and saapas/ta (part. sing.) but
saappaa/n (gen. sing.), saappaa/na (ess. sing.), saappaa/t (nom. pl.),
saappa/i/ssa (iness. pl.), etc.
In three-syllable nominals like keittiö ‘kitchen’, lapio ‘spade’, herttua
‘duke’, wher there is a syllable boundary between the two final vowels in
the basic form (§9), there is no consonant gradation A(c). They are thus
inflected keittiö/n (gen. sing.), keittiö/ssä (iness. sing.), keittiö/tä (part.
sing.), keittiö/i/ssä (iness. pl.), etc.
H
