【芬兰语语法】§15.3 APPLYING THE BASIC RULE TO NOMINALS

 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