The Instructive Case – Instruktiivi – omin silmin
The instructive case is another of those rare Finnish grammatical cases that are mostly used in fossilized phrases. The instructive can be formed from both nouns and verbs.
- The instructive form of nouns
- In certain phrases
- In certain fossilized expressions
- Instructive particles
- The instructive form of verbs
- With two actions at the same time
- With fossilized verb instructives
1. The instructive form of nouns
The instructive form of nouns has the basic meaning of “by means of”. In modern Finnish, many of its instrumental uses are being superseded by the adessive case, as in “minä matkustin junalla” -> “I traveled by train.”
Some commonly used expressions in which the instructive is used are “omin silmin” (= with one’s own eyes) and “omin käsin” (= with one’s own hands). Those are two examples where a direct translation yields a result that is understandable. However, some more fossilized phrases are hardly understandable anymore by translating directly. In 1.1.1 you can find a list of the understandable ones, while 1.1.2 deals with the fossilized expressions.
For nouns, the instructive’s -n is usually added to the plural stem of the word, which is why people generally talk about the instructive’s ending as -in. The -i- is the plural marker and the -n the instructive case’s ending. There are some cases where the instructive appears in the singular. The most notable of these is “jalan” (by foot).
1.1. In certain phrases
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Ota yksi tabletti [aamuin illoin]. | Take one pill every morning and every evening. |
| Ikävöin äitiäni [päivin öin]. | I miss my mother every day and every night. |
| Lähestyin asiaa [avoimin mielin]. | I approached the matter with an open mind. |
| Anna piti palloa [molemmin käsin]. |
Anna held the ball with both hands. |
| Pidä ratista kiinni [kaksin käsin]! | Hold the steering wheel with two hands! |
| Pidän hänestä kiinni [kynsin hampain]. | I hold on to him frantically (“tooth and nail”). |
| Kerro [omin sanoin] mitä on tapahtunut! | Tell what has happened in your own words! |
| Antti näki sen [omin silmin]. | Antti saw it with his own eyes. |
| Se on totta! Kuulin sen [omin korvin]. | It’s true! I heard it with my own ears. |
| On ihanaa kävellä rannalla [paljain jaloin]. | It’s wonderful to walk on the beach with bare feet. |
| Sain haavan, koska olin [avojaloin]. | I got the wound because I was barefooted. |
| Hän selvisi tilanteesta [kuivin jaloin]. | He survived the situation with dry feet (“without consequences”). |
| Hän selvisi kolarista [ehjin nahoin]. | She survived the crash unharmed (“with unbroken skin”). |
| Kirkossa pitää olla [paljain päin]. | In church you should have a bare head (no hat). |
| Suostuin [pitkin hampain] auttamaan häntä. | I agreed to help him reluctantly (“with long teeth”). |
| Lähdin juhliin [iloisin mielin] / [ilomielin]. | I went to the party happily (“with a happy mind”). |
| Hiero muutama tippa [puhtain käsin] ikeniisi. | Rub a couple of drops on your gums with clean hands. |
| Hänet otettiin vastaan [avosylin]. | They took him in with open arms (“with an open lap”). |
| Toivotan sinut tervetulleeksi [täysin sydämin]. | I welcome you fullheartedly (“with full hearts”). |
| Koira nautti automatkasta [täysin rinnoin]. | The dog enjoyed the car trip wholeheartedly (“with full chests”). |
| Kevät ja kesä lähenevät [pitkin askelin]. | Spring and summer approach quickly (“with long strides”). |
| Koko elämäni oli kääntynyt [nurin niskoin]. | My whole life had turned topsy-turvy (“with upside down neck”). |
| Juha kiitti [kyynelsilmin] tätiään avusta. | Juha thanked his aunt for the help tearfully (“with tear eyes”). |
| Varusmiehiä kuulusteltiin [kovin ottein]. | Conscripts were interrogated brutally (“with hard grips”). |
| Alkoholinkäyttö lisääntyi [vähin erin]. | The alcohol usage increased slowly (“with small batches”). |
| Myimme kirjat [yksin kappalein]. | We sold the books individually (“with one piece”). |
| Täällä on [tuhatmäärin] lintuja. | There are thousands (“thousand quantities”) of birds here. |
| Puutarhassani on kukkia [yllin kyllin]. | In my garden there are flowers abundantly (“above plenty”). |
| Saat syödä [mielin määrin]! | You can eat as much as you want (“with minds quantities”)! |
| Leila taipui [kaksin kerroin] naurusta. | Leila bent over in half (“in two times”) from laughing. |
| [Näillä tienoin] asuu paljon mustalaisia. | There live a lot of gypsies hereabout (“in these parts”). |
1.2. In certain fossilized expressions
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| “[Ystävällisin terveisin], Maija” | With friendly greetings, Maija (end of a letter). |
| Pekka on ollut [selvin päin] vuosia. | Pekka has been sober for years (“with clear heads”). |
| Hän mahtui [hädin tuskin] enää istuimeen. | She barely fit into the seat anymore. |
| Miehet saapuivat [hyvissä ajoin]. | The men arrived well in advance (“in good times”). |
| Hoitaisitko asian [mitä pikimmin]? | Could you take care of that as soon as possible? |
| Me istumme hevosella [hajareisin]. | We sit on the horse astride. |
| Olen maksanut velkani [monin verroin]. | I’ve paid back my debt in many ways. |
| Ari syöksyi suhteeseen [suin päin]. | Ari jumped into a relationship head over heels (“with mouths heads”). |
1.3. Instructive particles
There seem to be a lot of particles that are actually instructives! However, these are no longer seen as instructive forms, but rather as words on their own with their own specific meaning.
| Finnish | English | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| harvoin | rarely | Hän tulee harvoin ajoissa. |
| aivan | really | Tämä on aivan liian suuri annos minulle. |
| tyystin | completely | Asia unohtui tyystin. |
| alun perin | originally | Tämä oli alun perin isoäitini pyörä. |
| samoin | likewise | Kiitos samoin! |
| väkisin | forcibly | Hän yritti väkisin sisään. |
| takaperin | backwards | Osaatko luistella takaperin? |
| läpikotaisin | through and through | Poliisi tutki asuntoa läpikotaisin. |
| oikein | correct(ly) | Haluan tehdä asiat oikein. |
| noin | like that | Oletko yrittänyt tehdä sen noin? |
| varsinkin | especially | Kaipaan häntä varsinkin sunnuntaisin. |
| ylen | mightily | Hän oli ylen iloinen. |
2. The instructive form of verbs
This instructive can also be formed with a verb as its base. This requires you to use the second infinitive of the verb, and add the instructive’s -n to it.
2.1. With two actions at the same time
Most of the time these instructive verbs appear in a verb+verb construction. In these sentences, the instructive verb describes how the main verb’s action was done or what other action coincided with it. For example, a person could arrive while crying (hän saapui itkien), while singing (hän saapui laulaen), while dancing (hän saapui tanssien) or while sighing (hän saapui huokaisten).
| Verb | Instructive | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| kävellä | kävellen | Matti tuli töihin kävellen. | How did he come to work? By foot. |
| juosta | juosten | Hän saapui töihin juosten. | How did he arrive at work? Running. |
| seistä | seisten | Maria söi seisten. | How did she eat? Standing up. |
| huutaa | huutaen | Anja puhui huutaen. | She talked + yelled |
| laulaa | laulaen | Kuljimme laulaen. | We moved + we sang |
| ihmetellä | ihmetellen | Hän poistui ihmetellen. | He left + he wondered |
| itkeä | itkien | Lapsi saapui itkien. | The child arrived + cried |
2.2. With fossilized verb instructives
| Verb | Instructive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| johtua | [Säästä johtuen] peruimme tapaamisen. | due to, because of |
| liittyä | Minulla on [siihen liittyen] kysymys. | related to that |
| lähteä | [Mistä lähtien] olet seisonut siellä? | starting from (how long?) |
| olla | [Näin ollen] en pysty tulemaan. | thus |
| puhua | [Totta puhuen] en edes tiennyt asiasta. | to tell (you) the truth |
| riippua | [Päivästä riippuen] teen 2-5 tuntia töitä. | depending on the day |
| sanoa | Hän on [toisin sanoen] pätemätön. | in other words |
| sanoa | Olen [suoraan sanoen] pettynyt sinuun. | frankly, to put it bluntly |
| tietää / tahtoa | Hän avasi lukon [tieten tahtoen]. | willfully, purposely |
| tulla | Autan [tarpeen tullen]. | if the need arises |
As shown in hyvissä [inessive] ajoin [instructive] and näillä [adessive] tienoin [instructive], there are some incongruent (i.e., lack of agreement in case types between modifier and noun) phrases. Another example is hyvillä mielin (in a good mood)
Also, the instructive plural forms of cardinal numerals, such as yksin, kaksin (alternatively, instructive singular kahden), and kolmin, are used to mean “as a group of …”. Yksin (alone) is the most commonly used.
What is the form of “vanhempiaan” in “Juha kiitti kyynelsilmin vanhempiaan tuesta.”? I tempt to use “vanhemman/vanhempien” (parent’s/parents’).
It’s “vanhempia” with a possessive suffix -an. Kiittää is a partitive verb, so the plural partitive is used here.
Right, thanks. I overlooked the “–Vn” form of possessive suffixes.
2.1: It might be better if in the examples (saavuin itkien) you use a verb that does not end in ‘in’ because it suggests that that is also instructive. It initially confused me.
Good points! I changed it to “hän saapui itkien”.
If I came across these on my own, I would translate a couple of the phrases in the singular (vs plural). Since there is nothing marking them as plural -unlike those with plural starter words like molemmin or monin, or a plural subject. Just based on how they get used in English.
Toivotan sinut tervetulleeksi [täysinsydämin].
‘I welcome you with a full heart.’ (vs. hearts)
Pekka on ollut [selvin päin] vuosia
‘Pekka has had a clear head for years’ (vs heads)
Miehet saapuivat [hyvissä ajoin].
The men arrived in good time. (vs times)
Grammatically these are ALL plurals because the -i- is the plural marker. However, I would recommend thinking of the -in as a whole, at least when dealing with nouns. In many cases it does indeed make sense to use the singular in English and ignore that these are all plurals.
I need to think about this! I’ve put the direct translations between quotation marks (eg. “with full hearts”) but maybe it would be better to be less literal in this case.
In English, there is the expression “tooth and nail” as in “I hold onto him tooth and nail”. I wonder if this might be a good translation for kynsin hampain?
Pidän hänestä kiinni [kynsin hampain] => I hold on to him frantically (“tooth and nail”)
Good suggestion, thank you! 🙂
One thing I’ve noticed is supposedly the instructive case is also used with days of the week, e.g. maanantaisin for on Mondays and tiistaisin for on Tuesdays, etc. None of my grammar books mention this usage. Any feedback. Thank you.
That form is not the instructive, it’s just an adverb with the suffix -isin. You can read more about it here: https://uusikielemme.fi/finnish-vocabulary/word-types/adverbs/adverbs-ending-in-isin-kotoisin-peraisin-aamuisin
Good info. Thanks. Wiktionary referred to it as instructive. My bad.