In Finnish, many verbs require connected words to be in a specific grammatical case (verb rection). When contrasting change and permanence, you will use two common verbs that demand different cases.
Permanence: pysyä + Essive Case
The verb pysyä ("to stay" or "to remain") requires the adjective or noun describing the state to be in the essive case. The essive expresses a continuous state and is formed by adding -na or -nä to the word's stem.
| The trend stays popular. | Trendi pysyy suosittuna. |
Change: muuttua + Translative Case
The verb muuttua ("to change" or "to turn into") requires the translative case to describe the result of a change. The translative expresses a transition into a new state and is formed by adding -ksi to the stem. (Remember that words ending in -nen, like negatiivinen, use the stem negatiivise- before adding the ending).
| The new trend turns negative. | Uusi trendi muuttuu negatiiviseksi. |
| The boy's attitude becomes positive because of this phenomenon. | Pojan asenne muuttuu positiiviseksi tämän ilmiön takia. |
Contrasting Change and Permanence
Notice how pysyä pairs strictly with the essive ending (-na/-nä), while muuttua always demands the translative ending (-ksi).
| The student should stay confident so that the attitude does not turn negative. | Opiskelijan kannattaa pysyä itsevarmana, jotta asenne ei muutu negatiiviseksi. |
| The dog always stays loyal, even though life turns serious. | Koira pysyy aina uskollisena, vaikka elämä muuttuu vakavaksi. |