A complement is a constituent occurring after the verb olla, expressing some
characteristic of the subject, e.g. nainen and mukava in the sentences
Marketta on nainen ‘Marketta is a woman’ and Marketta on mukava
‘Marketta is nice’. The cases of the complement are nominative and partitive,
and occasionally also genitive (e.g. Auto on minu/n ‘The car is mine’). When
the complement is an adjective the following rules hold.
A singular adjective complement (i.e. a predicative adjective) is in the
partitive when the subject is divisible.
Maito on valkois/ta. (The) milk is white.
Rauta on kova/a. (The) iron is hard.
Kahvi on kuuma/a. (The) coffee is hot.
(3) The object is in the partitive when it expresses an indefinite,
non-limited quantity (divisible words and plural words).
88 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
Tämä on merkillis/tä. This is peculiar.
Musiikki on kaunis/ta. (The) music is beautiful.
Rehellisyys on harvinais/ta. Honesty is rare.
Uiminen on hauska/a. Swimming is nice.
When the subject is non-divisible, the adjective complement is normally in
the nominative.
Heidän koiransa on valkoinen. Their dog is white.
Tämä pala on kova. This bit is hard.
Kuppi on kuuma. The cup is hot.
Hän on merkillinen. He/she is funny.
Autoni ei ole kaunis. My car is not beautiful.
An adjective complement is also in the partitive when the subject is an
infinitive or a subordinate clause, or when there is no subject.
On ilmeis/ tä, että… It is clear that…
On paras/ta lähteä. It is best to leave.
Luennolla oli hauska/a. It was nice at the lecture.
(lit. ‘At the lecture was nice.’)
With some adjectives both nominative and partitive are equally possible as
complement cases; often the nominative is better.
Minun on vaikea(a) tulla. It is difficult for me to come.
Oli hauska(a) tutustua. It was nice to meet (you).
Ei ole helppo(a) päättää. It is not easy to decide.
If the subject is plural, the adjective complement must also be in the plural
(concord), and is usually in the partitive plural. But the nominative plural is
often equally possible; this form is obligatory if the subject is a plural
invariable wor(§26) or if the concept referred to by the subject is clearly of
limited scope.
A plural adjective complement (predicative adjective) is generally in the
partitive, but it takes the nominative if the subject is an invariable plural or
refers to a clearly limited concept.
Oletteko ilois/i/a? Are you (pl.) glad?
Omenat ovat tanskalais/i/a. The apples are Danish.
Nämä kirjat ovat kalli/i/ta. These books are expensive.
Tulppaanit ovat punais/i/a. The tulips are red.
He ovat miellyttäv/i/ä. They are pleasant.
Voileivät ovat hyv/i/ä. The sandwiches are good.
In sentences like the above the nominative is also possible: Nämä kirjat ovat
kallii/t; Tulppaanit ovat punaise/t; Voileivät ovat hyvä/t. In the following
examples, however, the nominative is obligatory; the subject is either an
invariable plural or a word referring to a part of the body.
The partitive 89
Jalat ovat likaise/t. The feet are dirty.
Saappaat ovat pitkä/t. The boots are tall.
Kasvot olivat valkoise/t. The face was white.
Sakset ovat terävä/t. The scissors are sharp.
Housut ovat harmaa/t. The trousers are grey.
Noun complements can also be either nominative or partitive.
A noun complement is in the partitive when it expresses an indefinite
quantity of a substance, group or species.
Oletteko ruotsalais/i/a? Are you (pl.) Swedish?
Olemme suomalais/i/a. We are Finnish.
He ovat nais/i/a. They are women.
Tuoli on puu/ta. The chair is (made) of wood.
Paitani on villa/a. My shirt is (made) of wool.
Aika on raha/a. Time is money.
Tämä on punaviini/ä. This is red wine.
The noun complement is otherwise in the nominative when it is a non-
divisible word and refers to a definite quantity.
Keijo on mies. Keijo is a man.
Tämä on auto. This is a car.
Olavi Järvinen on lääkäri. Olavi Järvinen is a doctor.
Tässä on viini! This (lit. ‘here’) is (the) wine!
