Type 3 verbs end their infinitive in a consonant plus -la/-lä, -na/-nä, -ra/-rä, or -sta/-stä: tulla (come), mennä (go), olla (be), purra (bite), nousta (rise), pestä (wash), opiskella (study). These are the only verbs whose present stem does not end in a vowel of its own, so Finnish inserts a linking -e- between the stem consonant and the endings. In the third person singular that -e- doubles to -ee-, just as Type 1 doubles its stem vowel.
The linking -e-: tulla and mennä
To find the stem, strip the infinitive ending down to the root consonant and add -e-: tul·la → tule-, men·nä → mene-. Then the ordinary endings attach. Here is tulla (come) in full:
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| minä | tulen | I come |
| sinä | tulet | you come |
| hän | tulee | he/she comes |
| me | tulemme | we come |
| te | tulette | you (pl.) come |
| he | tulevat | they come |
And mennä (go), which is front-harmonic:
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| minä | menen | I go |
| sinä | menet | you go |
| hän | menee | he/she goes |
| me | menemme | we go |
| te | menette | you (pl.) go |
| he | menevät | they go |
Tulen kotiin kuudelta, joten menemme yhdessä kauppaan.
I'll come home at six, so we'll go to the store together.
Milloin sinä menet nukkumaan, jos tulet töistä vasta puolenyön jälkeen?
When do you go to bed if you don't get home from work until after midnight?
Keep the stem consonant single
The commonest orthographic trap in Type 3 is carrying the infinitive's geminate (double consonant) into the finite forms. The -ll- of tulla and the -nn- of mennä belong to the infinitive marker, not to the stem — the stem has a single consonant plus -e-: tule-, mene-. So it is tulen, never *tullen, and menen, never *mennen.
Odota hetki, tulen ihan kohta!
Wait a second, I'm coming right away!
The 3sg -ee versus the past tense -i
Because Type 3 has no consonant ending in the third person, the doubled -ee- is the only signal of tense there — and it contrasts minimally with the past. Compare:
| Verb | Present 3sg | Past 3sg |
|---|---|---|
| tulla | tulee (comes) | tuli (came) |
| mennä | menee (goes) | meni (went) |
| panna (put) | panee (puts) | pani (put) |
A single vowel carries the whole tense: -ee = present, -i = past. Slurring tulee into tuli changes "comes" into "came."
Hän tulee aina ajoissa, mutta eilen hän tuli myöhässä.
She always comes on time, but yesterday she came late.
The -sta/-stä subclass: nousta, pestä, juosta
Verbs ending in -sta/-stä keep their -s- in the stem and add -e-: nousta → nouse- (rise), pestä → pese- (wash). One verb here is irregular: juosta (run) has the stem juokse-, with a -k- that is absent from the infinitive.
| Verb | Stem | minä | hän |
|---|---|---|---|
| nousta (rise) | nouse- | nousen | nousee |
| pestä (wash) | pese- | pesen | pesee |
| juosta (run) | juokse- | juoksen | juoksee |
| opiskella (study) | opiskele- | opiskelen | opiskelee |
Nousen yleensä seitsemältä ja peseydyn ennen aamiaista.
I usually get up at seven and wash before breakfast.
Hän juoksee maratonin joka syksy, vaikka polvet valittavat.
She runs a marathon every autumn, even though her knees complain.
Opiskelen suomea illalla ja opiskelemme yhdessä viikonloppuisin.
I study Finnish in the evening and we study together on weekends.
Note that opiskella is a longer Type 3 verb, but it behaves identically: strip -la off the geminate to opiskele-, then conjugate. The plural harmonises as usual — back tulevat, nousevat, opiskelevat; front menevät, pesevät.
Common Mistakes
❌ Minä tuln kotiin myöhään.
Incorrect — Type 3 needs the linking -e-: tulen.
✅ Tulen kotiin myöhään.
I'll come home late.
❌ Hän mennen jo nukkumaan.
Incorrect — don't carry the infinitive's geminate; the stem is mene-: menee.
✅ Hän menee jo nukkumaan.
She's already going to bed.
❌ Hän tuli bussilla joka aamu töihin.
Incorrect for a habit — tuli is past ('came'); the present is tulee.
✅ Hän tulee bussilla joka aamu töihin.
He comes to work by bus every morning.
❌ Minä juosen puistossa aamuisin.
Incorrect — juosta has the irregular stem juokse-: juoksen.
✅ Juoksen puistossa aamuisin.
I run in the park in the mornings.
Key Takeaways
- Stem: root consonant + linking -e- — tulla → tule-, mennä → mene-, nousta → nouse-.
- Third person: doubles the -e- to -ee (tulee, menee, nousee).
- Keep the stem consonant single: tulen, not *tullen; drop nothing: tulen, not *tuln.
- The 3sg -ee is the whole tense signal — do not confuse tulee (present) with tuli (past).
- Irregular stem: juosta → juokse- (juoksen, juoksee).
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- Verb Type 3: -la/-na/-ra/-sta Verbs (tulla, mennä)A2 — Drop the -la/-na/-ra/-sta ending and add a linking -e- for the stem: tulla → tule-. The third person doubles the -e- to -ee (tulee).
- tulla ('to come / become')A1 — Full conjugation of tulla, a Type 3 verb, plus its two governments: the illative for coming and the translative for becoming (tulla sairaaksi).
- mennä ('to go')A1 — Full conjugation of mennä (to go), a Type 3 verb: stem mene-, assimilated participle mennyt, and the illative it governs for destinations.
- The Present TenseA1 — One Finnish present form covers 'I speak', 'I am speaking' and 'I will speak' — stem plus a personal ending, no auxiliary, no separate future tense.