Imperfection / Learning nothing

As I just said in the previous post, today (Tuesday) is another language exam, so I had really better do some revision.  As I am in a sharing mood you, oh lucky reader, get to revise alongside me the glories of Level 3 Finnish for Foreigners.  Those with uncomfortable memories of attempting to learn a language at school may want to look away now... The rest of you may need the following reference materials to join in properly: Suomen Kielen Alkeisoppikirja, Harjituskirja, Suomi-Englanti-Suomi Sanakirja, Hyvin Menee!, Finnish: An Essential Grammar, and a Finnish speaking person may also come in useful in a pinch...

So what have we done the last three weeks? Ah the mysteries of the past, the past tenses that is: Imperfekti (I did...), Perfekti (I have done...), and Pluskvamperfecti (I had done...); Konditionaali (would/could/should); Omistusliite (possessive suffixes); and Indefiniittipronominit.  Here's an example

• Imperfekti (the imperfect or 'simple' past tense):
  

Basically (for the positive) you chuck an i into the verb - most of the time anyway.

So with verbityypit 1, 3 & 5 if the verb 'stem/body' (vartalo) ends with o, ö, u, y you add an -i- before the persoonapääte (the personal prounoun suffix), but if the vartalo ends a, ä, e, i you drop that vowel (vokaali) before adding the i. eg:

SANOA (to say)> sano-> sanoi- > eg: sanoimme (we said)

LUKEA (to read)> lue-> lui- > eg: luin (I read); he lukivat sen eilen (they read it yesterday). [Note the disappearing/reappearing K. This is known as 'type 1 verb consonant gradation' but doesn't apply to the hän (he/she) and he (they) person]

AJATELLA (to think)> ajattele-> ajatteli- > eg: hän ajatteli (he/she thought); ajattelitko asiaa? (did you think of something?) [Note the gaining of an extra T. This is known as 'type 3 verb reverse consonant gradation, which applies to all the personal versions]

However, if any of these verbs have just two syllables were the first and last vowels in the vartalo are both a then instead of just substituting i for the last a, you put -oi-

eg: ALKAA (to start) > al-a- / al-ka > alan (I start) > aloin (I started) [there goes that K again]

Type 2 verbs are complicated in that double vowels (VV) lose 1 and get an i as expected, but -uo, -yö, -oi, vartalo endings lose the first vowel and then get an -i- 

eg: SAADA (to get/receive) > saa- > saitte (you [plural/polite] received);  hän sai lahjan (he/she got a present)

SYÖDÄ (to eat) > syö- > söin omenan (I ate an apple)

Type 4 verbs are different as they have -si- added instead of -i- 

eg: HALUTA (to want)> halua-> haluasitko? (what did you want?)

For negative imperfect constructions you have to use the negatory verb ei with the perusmutto of the verb (that is with the end chopped off, which is not the same as the vartalo) then add the ending  -nut/-nyt for singular and -neet for plural. Usually. eg:

VT1: SOITTAA (to call/ring) > en soittanut (I didn't call); emme soittaneet (we didn't call)

VT2: SYÖDÄ (to eat) > et syönyt (you didn't eat); he eivät syöneet (they didn't eat)

VT3: MENNÄ (to go) > hän ei mennyt (he/she didn't go); ette menneet (you [pl.] didn't go)

VT3: TULLA (to come)> en tullut; emme tulleet

VT3: PESTÄ (to wash)> en pessyt; emme pesseet

VT4: HALUTA (to want)> en halunnut; emme halunneet

VT5: VALITA (to choose) > hän ei valinnut; he eivät valinneet

I'll skip most of the rest (otherwise I might as well write my own Grammar book) except for the indefinite pronouns - someone, something & no-one, nothing, which I need some practice on anyway:

• Joku - someone; some; someone in/on/from/... (human)

case : - malli / example

nominative: joku - Joku soitti sinulle / someone rang (to/for) you

vartalo: jo- + ku-

partative: jotakuta - Etsittekö jotakuta / Are you searching for somebody?

accusative: jonkun - Tapasitko jonkun siellä? / Did you meet someone there?

genetive: jonkun - Täällä on jonkun lompakko / Here (there) is someone's wallet

illative: johonkuhun - Kaisa on ihastunut johonkuhun italialaiseen / Kaisa has 'fallen for' someone Italian

inessive: jossakussa -

elative: jostakusta - Juoruatteko se taas jostakusta / 

allative: jollekulle

adessive: jollakulla - Kun jollakulla on nimipäivä, juhlitaan / When someone has (a) name-day, celebrate.

ablative: joltakulta - Sinulle tuli kortti joltakulta / To you came (a) card from someone

plural nom.: jotkut

• ei mikään - nothing; none; not anything; nowhere; not somewhere (non-human)

nominative: ei mikään - Häntä ei kiinnosta mikään / He/she is not interested in anything

partative: ei mitään - Eilen en tehnyt mitään / Yesterday I did nothing

genetive: ei minkään

illative: ei mihinkään - Paula ei mennyt mihinkään juhannuksena / Paula didn't go (to) anywhere at Juhannus (midsummer)

inessive: ei missään - Hän ei ollut missään juhannuksena / She had gone nowhere (for) midsummer

elative: ei mistään - Me emme halua puhua mistään / We didn't want to talk about anything

allative: ei millekään - En halua osallistua millekään kurssille / I don't want to take part on (in) some course

adessive: ei millään - Millään ei ole väliä / On nothing is/be care = 'nothing matters'

ablative: ei miltään - Eikö suomalainen ruoka maistu miltään? / Doesn't Finnish food taste of (off/from) anything/something?

So, I guess the question is, have I learnt 'nothing' yet?

Toinen Koe

via kaupunkiliikenne.net: No, not a tram where you take exams (although the red pub tram does sell beer!)

If you have wondering why there has been a bit less hölynpöly recently then you probably need to get a life and get out more often... however one of us has been revising for his level two FFF (Finnish for foreigners) koe (test) which took place this afternoon. I get the results tomorrow, but I have a feeling it will not be as good as the last one. Just hoping to pass. Ho-hum.

Minun täytyy oppiskella joka päivä oppia lisää suomea, mutta minun ei tarvitse tehdä kotitehtevät tänä viikonloppuna.

Anyway level three starts next Monday, so back to reverse consonant gradation, and who knows what else then. 

But this week I also have to deal with a bit of Finnish bureaucracy and officially register my presence since it has been three months now; so through a great piece of 'Finnish logic' as an EU citizen I don't need permission, but I am supposed to register, with supporting documentation and details to show why I am here, which sounds suspiciously similar to the list of things required for non-EU citizens to get permission ... and being Finland this is done at the police station. Lovely. Now I understand those 'police state' jokes...

Arvosteluasteikko - Grades

Here's a nice picture to calm you down from the thought of exams...

It will come as no surprise to anyone if I say I don't really like exams. I mean who does? Equally I have never really thought I was any good at languages, as a stunning CSE grade 2 at French backs up. (For those of you who are to young, or as old as me but not from UK, a CSE grade 1 was equivalent to a C grade 'O' Level (a pass) back in the days before GCSEs... so a 2 is not very good).  And when it comes to Finnish language tests my only previous experience (in London a few years ago) was less than a happy one.

So I am now the proud owner of a todistus (certificate) showing I achieved Grade 4 at Level 1 'Finnish for Foreigners' and completed 52 lesson modules worth 4 ECTS credits, at Helsingin Seudun Kesäyliopisto ... err, hang on, was that a Grade 4?

It did take me at least 30 loooong seconds to realize that the Finnish grade system goes from 0 (fail) to 5 (excellent) so a 4 is kiitettävä or very good; Wow! And as the papers were given out in order, I must have got the third highest mark out of our twenty odd group of ulkomaalaiset. 

Then we got our papers back and saw my actual mark was 92%... flippin' heck, what do you need for excellent!?

Still, only one down and three more to go before Christmas, and I had done half of this before, but maybe I'm not so bad at languages after all. Minä sanon 'ehkä...'!