【芬兰语语法】§87 ADVERBS

 The most common type of adverb expresses manner, and is formed by adding

the ending -sti to the inflectional stem of an adjective, e.g. hauska ‘nice’ :

hauska/sti ‘nicely’. This ending causes consonant gradation, e.g. helppo

‘easy’ : helpo/sti ‘easily’ (§15.6).

Basic form Adverb in -sti

paksu paksu/sti thickly

kiltti kilti/sti good-naturedly

nopea nopea/sti fast

suuri suure/sti greatly

tavallinen tavallise/sti usually

kaunis kaunii/sti beautifully

puhdas puhtaa/sti purely

voimakas voimakkaa/sti powerfully

Jussi laulaa kaunii/sti. Jussi sings beautifully.

Panen runsaa/sti voita leivän I put plenty of (‘abundantly’)

päälle. butter on the bread.

Puhukaa aivan vapaa/sti! Speak quite freely!

Nyt täytyy puhua lyhye/sti. Now one must speak briefly.

Tavallise/sti menen sänkyyn klo 23. Usually I go to bed at 11 o’clock.

Teen työtä tehokkaa/sti. I work efficiently.

En pidä tästä erityise/sti. I don’t particularly like this.

The corresponding comparative and superlative expressions are derived by

changing the endings -mpi and -in to -mmin (comparative) and -immin

(superlative).

Other word classes 219

Adjective Comparative Superlative Comparative Superlative

basic adjective adjective adverb adverb

form basic form basic form in -mmin in -immin

helppo easy helpo/mpi helpo/in helpo/mmin helpo/immin

selvä clear selve/mpi selv/in selve/mmin selv/immin

kova hard kove/mpi kov/in kove/mmin kov/immin

matala low matala/mpi matal/in matala/mmin matal/immin

tarkka exact tarke/mpi tark/in tarke/mmin tark/immin

suuri great suure/mpi suur/in suure/mmin suur/immin

tavallinen usual tavallise/mpi tavallis/in tavallise/mmin tavallis/immin

kaunis beautiful kaunii/mpi kaune/in kaunii/mmin kaune/immin

puhdas clean puhtaa/mpi puhta/in puhtaa/mmin puhta/immin

runsas abundant runsaa/mpi runsa/in runsaa/mmin runsa/immin

terve healthy tervee/mpi terve/in ter vee/mmin terve/immin

Yrjö juoksee nopea/mmin kuin Lauri.

Yrjö runs faster than Lauri.

Aja hitaa/mmin!

Drive more slowly!

Tuo mies ajaa kaikkein hita/immin.

That man drives the slowest of all.

Yritä opiskella ahkera/mmin.

Try to study more diligently.

Bill ääntää selv/immin.

Bill pronounces the most clearly.

Tavallis/immin herään klo 7.

Most commonly I wake at 7 o’clock.

Elä tervee/mmin!

Live more healthily!

Siellä oli runsaa/mmin ihmisiä kuin oli odotettu.

There were more people there than had been expected.

Kyllä Johanna laulaa kaune/immin, ainakin kaunii/mmin kuin Aune.

Johanna certainly sings the most beautifully, at least more beautifully

than Aune.

The comparative and superlative of paljon ‘much, many’ are exceptional:

enemmän ‘more’ and eniten ‘most’.

Another common group of adverbs are those expressing place or

direction, such as alas ‘down’, pois ‘away’. These adverbs often inflect in the

three external locative cases (§40) in accordance with the direction of the

action of the verb.

220 Finnish: An Essential Grammar

alas down

alhaa/lla, -lta, -lle down, below

ede/ssä, -stä, eteen in front, before

kaikkia/lla, -lta, -lle everywher

kaukana, kaukaa, kauas far

kotona, kotoa, kotiin at home

oikea/lla, -lta, -lle on the right

poissa, pois away

sie/llä, -ltä, sinne there (unspecified place)

tuo/lla, -lta, -nne there (place pointed to)

tää/llä, -ltä, tänne here

ulkona, ulkoa, ulos outside

vasemma/lla, -lta, -lle on the left

ylös up

Many common adverbs indicate time.

aikaisin early joskus sometimes

aina always kauan for a long time

eilen yesterday kerran once

ennen before kohta soon

harvoin rarely myöhään late

heti immediately nyt now

huomenna tomorrow silloin then, at that time

tänään today sitten then, after that

usein often

Another major group are those of degree, measure or quantity.

aika quite, rather kovin very

aivan quite, completely kyllin enough

erittäin extremely liian too

hieman slightly melko quite, considerably

hiukan a little niin so

varsin exceedingly, quite

In addition to those mentioned above there are also other adverbs of

manner.

hiljaa quiet(ly) näin in this way

hyvin well oikein right

ilmaiseksi free of charge samoin in the same way

itsestään of itself siten in that way

mielellään with pleasure yksin alone

Also important are the modal adverbs, which indicate in a variety of

subjective ways the speaker’s attitude to what he or she is saying.

Other word classes 221

ainakin at least muun muassa among other things

ehkä perhaps myös also

jopa even päinvastoin on the contrary

juuri just tietenkin of course

kai probably tietysti of course

kenties perhaps tosin to be sure

kyllä certainly, indeed; yes tosiaan really

mieluummin rather vain only