In order to explain the use of the nominative we also need to make a
distinction with respect to the partitive. A noun is non-divisible (countable) if
it refers to a more or less concrete entity that cannot be divided into smaller
parts in such a way that the parts share the quality of the whole. Non-divisible
nouns can be counted (one x, two x’s, etc.). Examples: auto ‘car’, talo
‘house’, hylly ‘shelf’, nainen ‘woman’, käsi ‘hand’, sielu ‘soul’. (In English
these nouns would be classified as singular count nouns.)
A noun is divisible (non-countable) if it refers to a concrete mass or an
abstract entity that can be divided into parts in such a way that the parts share
the quality of the whole. Examples: kahvi ‘coffee’, maito ‘milk’, rauta
‘iron’, kulta ‘gold’, olut ‘beer’, vesi ‘water’, vahvuus ‘strength’, rakkaus
‘love’. Divisible nouns cannot normally be counted.
