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Plural Translative Case – Finnish Grammar

This article deals with the formation and use of the plural translative case. If you’re looking for the article on the singular translative case, click here.

If you’re just looking for a condensed version of this article, click here to get to the TL;DR (“too long; didn’t read”) version.

Table of Contents
  1. The Use of the Translative Case
    1. When a change of state happens
    2. When a transition happens
    3. When expressing purpose
    4. When expressing the time of a future event
    5. With translative verb rections
  2. The Formation of the Translative Case
    1. Words ending in -u, -y, -o or
    2. Words ending in
    3. Words ending in -a
      1. Kissa-words
      2. Koira-words
    4. Words ending in -i
      1. New words ending in -i
      2. Old words ending in -i and -si
    5. Words ending in -e
    6. Words ending in -nen
    7. Words ending in two vowels
    8. Words ending in a diphtong
    9. Words ending in a consonant
      1. Words ending in -as/-äs
      2. Words ending in -is
      3. Words ending in -us/-ys/-os/-ös
      4. Words ending in -ton/-tön
      5. Words ending in -in
      6. Words ending in –ut/-yt/-nut/-nyt
      7. Words ending in -tar/-tär
  3. Consonant Gradation in the Plural Translative Case
  4. Summary

1. The Use of the Plural Translative Case (-ksi)

1.1. When a change of state happens

A “change of state” can be, for example, a change from water to wine, or from warm to cold. The verb muuttua “to change, to turn into” is the most typical for this type of sentence. We use the plural translative because the subject is plural. For example, the singular “Päivä muuttui kylmäksi” (the day turned cold) will become “Päivät muuttuivat kylmiksi” in the plural.

Finnish English
Päivät muuttuivat kylmiksi. The days turned cold.
Vaatteet tulivat märiksi. The clothes got wet.
Maalaa seinät punaisiksi! Paint the walls red!
Pojat muuttuivat aggressiivisiksi. The boys turned aggressive.
Pojat kasvoivat pitkiksi. The boys grew tall.
Lapset tulevat nopeasti sairaiksi. The children get sick quickly.

1.2. When a transition happens

A “change” (as seen in 1.1) and a “transition” (in this section) mean similar things. However, this section deals mostly with people and is often harder for students to grasp. When a person becomes unemployed, pregnant or an engineer, in the Finnish language, that’s also seen as a change: first you’re a student and, then, you are a graduated engineer. The plural is once again used when to subject is plural (e.g. “Tyttö pääsi ylioppilaaksi” becomes “Tytöt pääsivät ylioppilaiksi“)

Some verbs that are typical for this type of sentence are “päästä”, “opiskella”, “valmistua” and “joutua”. You can find some example sentences of these below. Learn more about translative rections in general here.

Finnish English
Tytöt pääsivät ylioppilaiksi. The students became high school graduates.
He opiskelevat toimittajiksi. They study to become journalists.
Miehet liittyivät ryhmän uusiksi jäseniksi. The men joined the group as new members.
He valmistuivat insinööreiksi. They graduated as engineers.
He joutuivat vangeiksi. They were imprisoned (ended up as prisoners).
He joutuivat työttömiksi. They became unemployed.
He tulivat molemmat raskaiksi. They both got pregnant.

1.3. When expressing purpose

The translative is also used to express the intended role or purpose of something that has been made or developed in some way. For example, the singular “Nainen on koulutettu vakoojaksi” becomes “Naiset on koulutettu vakoojiksi” in the plural.

Finnish English
Naiset on koulutettu vakoojiksi. The women have been trained as spies.
Nämä lakanat sopivat pöytäliinoiksi. These sheets are suitable as tablecloths.
Nämä laitteet on kehitetty apuvälineiksi. These devices have been developed as aids.
Säännöt on tehty rikottaviksi. Rules are made to be broken.
Koristeita ei ole tarkoitettu syötäviksi. The decorations are not meant to be eaten.

1.4. When expressing the time of a future event

When we want to express the time by which something will happen or is due to happen, the translative is also used. These expressions of time are usually cases where we know in advance when, and for how long, something is going to happen. When the amount of time something takes is plural, we will use the plural translative.

Finnish English
Sotilas tuomittiin vuosiksi vankeuteen. The soldier was sentenced to years in prison.
Muona riittää useiksi kuukausiksi. The supply is enough for several months.
Ari palaa aina kesiksi Ouluun. Ari always returns to Oulu for the summers.
Tehtaat suljettiin viikoiksi. The factories were closed for weeks.
Säästän ne yleensä aamuiksi. I usually save them for the mornings.

Note that this only happens with unspecified amounts! Adding a number will require the singular translative (e.g. Sotilas tuomittiin kahdeksi vuodeksi vankeuteen).

1.5. With translative verb rections

Some verbs will require the word connected to them to be inflected in the translative case. We call this phenomenon “verb rections”. The examples above already contain these types of verbs. You can find a more complete list of translative verb rections here.

The following table has examples with the plural translative because the entity that changes is plural (e.g. “girls” rather than “a girl”).

Verb English Finnish
muuttua Arin partakarvat muuttuivat harmaiksi. Ari’s beard hairs turned grey.
opiskella Tytöt opiskelivat insinööreiksi. The girls studied to be engineers.
valmistua Pojat valmistuivat partureiksi. The boys graduated as barbers.
palkata Opiskelijat palkattiin sijaisiksi. The students were hired as substitutes.
luulla Luulin poikia tytöiksi. I thought the boys were girls.
syyttää Syytin heitä valehtelijoiksi. I accused them of being liars.

2. The Formation of the Plural Translative Case

The plural marker that all plural cases (so in addition to the plural translative this is also true for e.g. the plural partitive) have in common is an -i-.

2.1. Words ending in -u, -y, -o or

Add the plural marker’s –i– to the weak stem (e.g. tyttö becomes tytö-) of the word.

Word Singular Plural
tyttö tytöksi tytöiksi
helppo helpoksi helpoiksi
sato sadoksi sadoiksi
aamu aamuksi aamuiksi
levy levyksi levyiksi

2.2. Words ending in –ä

For words ending in –ä (note: only –ä not –a), you will remove the when adding the plural marker’s –i. Remember consonant gradation: you need to make these words weak (e.g. leipä because leiviksi).

Word Singular Plural
metsä metsäksi metsiksi
kylmä kylmäksi kylmiksi
pöytä pöydäksi pöydiksi
leipä leiväksi leiviksi

2.3. Words ending in –a

Just like in the other plural cases, we’re dividing words ending in –a in “kissa-words” and “koira-words”. These two words belong to different groups of words ending in -a. If you can remember “kissa – kissoiksi” and “koira – koiriksi” and apply that rule to other, similar words, you’re well on your way to mastering the plural translative case!

2.3.1. Kissa-words: -oi-

Kissa-words are words of two syllables. Their final letter is –a. In the first syllable, you will have either –e-, –i– or –a-. In other words, the vowels of these words can look like:

  • a…a (kana, maksa, sana, marja)
  • e…a (herra, tela, teema, leija)
  • i…a (kissa, tina, hinta, silta)

When you inflect these words in the plural translative case, you will replace the final –a with –oi- before the –ksi.

Word Singular Plural
kissa kissaksi kissoiksi
hinta hinnaksi hinnoiksi
kirja kirjaksi kirjoiksi
sana sanaksi sanoiksi

2.3.2. Koira-words: -i-

Koira-words are also words of two syllables. Their final letter is also –a. They differ when it comes to the first syllable: for koira-words you will have either –o- or –u- in the first syllable. In other words, the vowels of these words can look like:

  • o…a (koira, konna, honda, nokka)
  • u…a (kukka, sukka, suora, juoma)

For koira-words, you will replace the final –a with –i– before adding the case ending.

Word Singular Plural
koira koiraksi koiriksi
kukka kukaksi kukiksi
tumma tummaksi tummiksi
loma lomaksi lomiksi

2.4. Words ending in –i

Words ending in –i are also divided into several groups. I have a separate article all about old and new words ending in -i if you’re new to this concept.

2.4.1. New words ending in –i

For new words ending in -i, replace the basic form’s –i with –ei- before the translative case marker –ksi.

Word Singular Plural
banaani banaaniksi banaaneiksi
pankki pankiksi pankeiksi
äiti äidiksi äideiksi
bussi bussiksi busseiksi
paperi paperiksi papereiksi

2.4.2. Old words ending in –i and –si

For the plural translative, we can combine old words ending in -i and -si into one group. As you can see from the table below, the singular forms of these two groups differ. In the plural, however, all these words look like the basic form of the word with –ksi added to the end.

Word Singular Plural
järvi järveksi järviksi
lehti lehdeksi lehdiksi
pieni pieneksi pieniksi
si deksi käsiksi
vuosi vuodeksi vuosiksi
susi sudeksi susiksi

2.5. Words ending in –e

For words ending in –e, the singular form will have –ee-, while the plural form has –ei– before the translative’s marker –ksi.

Note that words ending in -e belong to wordtype B. This means you will need to think of consonant gradation: the basic form of the word will be weak (e.g. one k) while the translative form will be strong (e.g. double kk).

Word Singular Plural
huone huoneeksi huoneiksi
kirje kirjeeksi kirjeiksi
parveke parvekkeeksi parvekkeiksi
koe kokeeksi kokeiksi
palaute palautteeksi palautteiksi

2.6. Words ending in –nen

For these words, the singular translative has –se– and the plural form has –si-. Remove the –nen from the end of the word and replace it with –si– and –ksi.

Word Singular Plural
nainen naiseksi naisiksi
tavallinen tavalliseksi tavallisiksi
sininen siniseksi sinisiksi
iloinen iloiseksi iloisiksi

2.7. Words ending in two vowels

For words ending in two of the same vowel (or a long vowel sound), you will remove the final vowel and replace it with the plural marker –i-.

Word Singular Plural
maa maaksi maiksi
puu puuksi puiksi
vapaa vapaaksi vapaiksi
harmaa harmaaksi harmaiksi

2.8. Words ending in a diphthong

For words ending in a diphthong, you will remove the first vowel of the diphthong and add -i- to the end of the word before adding –ksi.

However, if the diphthong ends in an –i (e.g. täi), you will not remove the first vowel. For these words the singular and the plural forms look exactly the same.

Word Singular Plural
tie tieksi teiksi
yö yöksi öiksi
työ
työksi
iksi
suo
suoksi soiksi
hai haiksi haiksi
voi voiksi voiksi

2.9. Words ending in a consonant

2.9.1. Words ending in -as/äs

Words ending in -as (or –äs, depending on vowel harmony rules) will have –ai- instead of the basic form’s –as.

These words belong to wordtype B. This means they will have the weak grade in their basic form (e.g. rakas) and the strong grade in the plural translative (e.g. rakkaiksi). Read more about words ending in -As here.

Word Singular Plural
rakas rakkaaksi rakkaiksi
rikas rikkaaksi rikkaiksi
opas oppaaksi oppaiksi
itsekäs itsekkääksi itsekkäiksi
avulias avuliaaksi avuliaiksi

2.9.2. Words ending in -is: two groups

For words ending in -is, we have two groups:

  • Firstly, we have words like kallis that get -ii- when inflected. These words will look the same in both singular and plural: kalliiksi could be both singular or plural. Read more about words like kallis here.
  • Secondly, we have words like roskis which get -ikse- when inflected. These words will have the –e- replaced with –i- (e.g. singular: roskikseksi → plural: roskiksiksi). Read more about words like roskis here.
Word Singular Plural
kallis kalliiksi kalliiksi
kauris kauriiksi kauriiksi
kaunis kauniiksi kauniiksi
roskis roskikseksi roskiksiksi
kirppis kirppikseksi kirppiksiksi
fiilis fiilikseksi fiiliksiksi

2.9.3. Words ending in –us/-ys/os/-ös

Words ending in –Us and -Os can belong to two types. In the singular translative, these two types are inflected differently, as you can see from the examples. However, in the plural translative case, this difference disappears: both types get -Uksiksi in the plural.

Word Singular Plural
mahdollisuus mahdollisuudeksi mahdollisuuksiksi
rakkaus rakkaudeksi rakkauksiksi
ystävyys ystävyydeksi ystävyyksiksi
vastaus vastaukseksi vastauksiksi
keskus keskukseksi keskuksiksi
tarjous tarjoukseksi tarjouksiksi

2.9.4. Words ending in -ton/tön

Words ending in –ton/-tön undergo consonant gradation (wordtype B) in their stem, so you get -ttOmA- in the conjugated forms. In the plural, the –A– at the end of the stem gets replace by the plural’s –i- so you end up with a stem ending in -ttOmi-. Read more about words ending in -ton here.

Word Singular Plural
työtön työttömäksi työttömiksi
rasvaton rasvattomaksi rasvattomiksi
maidoton maidottomaksi maidottomiksi
koditon kodittomaksi kodittomiksi
alkoholiton alkoholittomaksi alkoholittomiksi

2.9.5. Words ending in -in

In the singular conjugation, –in gets replaced with -ime-. In the plural, you get –imi– because the plural’s –i- replaces the singular stem’s –e-. Read more about words ending in -in here.

These words belong to wordtype B. This means they will have the weak grade in their basic form (e.g. keitin) and the strong grade in the plural translative (e.g. keittimiksi). Read more about words ending in -in here.

Word Singular Plural
puhelin puhelimeksi puhelimiksi
avain avaimeksi avaimiksi
puhallin puhaltimeksi puhaltimiksi
keitin keittimeksi keittimiksi
kiharrin kihartimeksi kihartimiksi

2.9.6. Words ending in -ut/-yt or -nut/-nyt

Words that end in -ut/yt can belong to two wordtypes. The smallest group of the two contains words such as olut, kevyt and lyhyt. For these words, you will replace the final -t with an –i- before the case ending. For example, the singular form olueksi becomes oluiksi in the plural.

The much larger group consists of NUT-participles such as väsynyt and tottunut. For these words, you will replace the -ut/yt with -ei- before the translative’s –ksi. For example, the singular form väsyneeksi because väsyneiksi in the plural.

Word Singular Plural
kevyt kevyeksi kevyiksi
olut olueksi oluiksi
ohut ohueksi ohuiksi
väsynyt väsyneeksi väsyneiksi
mennyt menneeksi menneiksi
uupunut uupuneeksi uupuneiksi

2.9.7. Words ending in -tar/-tär

Words ending in –tar/-tär are pretty rare, but some common words like tytär (daughter) do exist. In the plural cases, these words get -ttari- in place of the basic form’s -tar. The double -tt- is because words ending in –tar/-tär undergo consonant gradation (wordtype B) in their stem, so you get -ttar- in the conjugated forms.

Word Singular Plural
tytär tyttäreksi tyttäriksi
herttuatar herttuattareksi herttuattariksi
jumalatar jumalattareksi jumalattariksi
kuningatar kuningattareksi kuningattariksi

3. Consonant Gradation in the Plural Translative Case

For the translative case (both singular and plural) words belonging to wordtype A words will always become weak and wordtype B words will always become strong.

Wordtype A
Word Plural Translative Word Plural Translative
tyttö tytöiksi pankki pankeiksi
pöytä pöydiksi hattu hatuiksi
silta silloiksi kampa kammoiksi
puku puvuiksi kauppa kaupoiksi

I have a separate article on wordtype A.

Wordtype B
Word Plural Translative Word Plural Translative
savuke savukkeiksi tavoite tavoitteiksi
opas oppaiksi rakas rakkaiksi
keitin keittimiksi hammas hampaiksi
puhallin puhaltimiksi allas altaiksi

I have a separate article on wordtype B.


4. Summary

TL;DR

The formation of the plural translative

Simply said, the translative case ending -ksi is added to the same plural stem as most of the location cases:

  • Tyttö: tytöiksi (just like tytöissä, tytöistä and tytöillä)
  • Järvi: järviksi (just like järvissä, järvistä and järvillä)
  • Puhelin: puhelimiksi (just like puhelimissa, puhelimista and puhelimilla)
  • Opas: oppaiksi (just like oppaissa, oppaista and oppailla)

The use of the plural translative

The plural translative is used in the same situations as the singular translative – except that it’s used where you need a plural form. For example:

  • Singular: Poika opiskelee insinööriksi. – Plural: Pojat opiskelevat insinööreiksi.
  • Singular: Lehti muuttuu ruskeaksi. – Plural: Lehdet muuttuvat ruskeiksi.
  • Singular: Luulin koiraa rotaksi. – Plural: Luulin koiria rotiksi.
  • Singular: Muutin vuodeksi Espanjaan. – Plural: Muutin vuosiksi Espanjaan.
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Marcin

An article about passive perfect tense would be very good! I’ve been actually wondering, is it true that a sentence in that tense could sometimes be also interpreted as a sentence with the verb to be and an adjective? For instance this one:

Ikkuna on avattu.

It could either “The window has been opened” or “The window is opened”, right? The difference in the meaning is very slightly though. Maybe the former puts more emphasis on the fact that there has been some change of the state (from closed to opened), while the other just tells about the current state. On the other hand, in plural there would be a difference in Finnish too:

Ikkunat on avattu.
Ikkunat ovat avatut. (or maybe avattuja?)

However, most people probably say “auki” when something is opened, not “avattu”.

Inge (admin)

Auki rather than avattu if it’s an adjective, yes

This singular/plural verb thing is mostly the case for the ACTIVE perfect tense:
Lapset ovat väsyneitä. = The children are tired. (NUT as an adjective)
Lapset ovat väsyneet. = The children have become tired. (NUT in the perfect tense)

None of the verbs I can come up right now sound natural in the passive perfect tense. I will have to spend some time digging around I think. Currently, I feel like it’s probably not an issue for the passive.