【芬兰语语法】§25 THE NOMINATIVE (BASIC FORM OF NOMINALS)

 The nominative is the basis upon which the Finnish case system is built. The

nominative is the primary form of nominals in dictionaries, and it is also the

most common case of most nominal words. The functions of the nominative

are seen most clearly when it is compared with the partitive, the second basic

case in the system. The partitive often expresses an indefinite, non-limited

quantity of something, allowing the possibility that there may exist more of

it. The nominative, on the other hand, expresses either a concrete or abstract

whole or a definite, limited, total quantity.

64 Finnish: An Essential Grammar