Words that Express Quantity for the Partitive
February 26, 2019
September 1, 2024
This page gives you more examples of words that express quantity. These are words that you use the partitive with. However, there is both the partitive singular and the partitive plural. Often the same quantity word can be used both with the singular and the plural partitive.
Below is a group of examples meant to make it clearer for you when to use the singular or the plural.
Singular Partitive
| Singular partitive | ||
|---|---|---|
| Määrä | Finnish | English |
| monta | monta omenaa | many apples |
| puoli | puoli tuntia | half an hour |
| vähän | vähän aikaa | a little bit of time |
| nokare | nokare voita | a knob of butter |
| kuppi | kuppi kahvia | a cup of coffee |
| kannu | kannu mehua | a jug of juice |
| litra | litra maitoa | a liter of milk |
| kilo | kilo sokeria | a kilo of sugar |
| pari | pari ystävää | a few friends |
| pullo | pullo viiniä | a bottle of wine |
| pala | pala kakkua | a piece of cake |
| pussi | pussi hiekkaa | a bag of sand |
| tölkki | tölkki limsaa | a can of soda |
| kulho | kulho mysliä | a bowl of muesli |
| ämpäri | ämpäri vettä | a bucket of water |
| purkki | purkki hilloa | a jar of jam |
| rasia | rasia suklaata | a box of chocolate |
| kasa | kasa lunta | a pile of snow |
Plural Partitive
| Plural partitive | ||
|---|---|---|
| Määrä | Finnish | English |
| paljon | paljon banaaneja | many bananas |
| parvi | parvi lintuja | a swarm of birds |
| laatikko | laatikko omenoita | a box of apples |
| kori | kori mansikoita | a basket of strawberries |
| pino | pino tuoleja | a stack of chairs |
| joukko | joukko ihmisiä | a group of people |
| vähän | vähän puita | a few trees |
| pussi | pussi sipsejä | a bag of chips |
| tölkki | tölkki herneitä | a can of peas |
| kulho | kulho muroja | a bowl of cereal |
| ämpäri | ämpäri mansikoita | a bucket of strawberries |
| purkki | purkki pipareita | a jar of gingerbread cookies |
| rasia | rasia makeisia | a box of sweets |
| kasa | kasa kiviä | a pile of stones |
| paketti | paketti jauhoja | a package of flour |
| pakkaus | pakkaus tarroja | a package of stickers |
When we’re dealing with mass nouns, you will use the partitive singular.
| Singular partitive | ||
|---|---|---|
| Määrä | Finnish | English |
| paketti | paketti jauhelihaa | a package of minced meat |
| metri | metri kangasta | a meter of fabric |
| viipale | viipale juustoa | a slice of cheese |
| lasillinen | lasillinen mehua | a glass of juice |
| lautallinen | lautallinen keittoa | a plate full of soup |
Would ‘yhtään’ trigger the partitive as a quantity?
It does trigger the partitive but not exactly in the same way. “Yhtään” expresses a negative quantity, so that’s why it has the partitive. “Minulla ei ole yhtään rahaa” or “En tiedä yhtään mitään”.
Thanks – that’s helpful