Emotion Verbs and the Elative Case
In Finnish, many verbs describing emotional reactions require their accompanying noun to be in a specific case. This is called verb rection.
For many emotion verbs, the cause of the emotion takes the elative case (-sta / -stä). While English uses various prepositions (excited about, surprised by, mad at), Finnish consistently uses the elative.
Excitement and Worry
The verbs innostua (to get excited) and huolestua (to get worried) require the elative to express what you are excited or worried about.
| The teacher got excited about our idea. | Opettaja innostui ideastamme. |
| He is worried about the future. | Hän on huolestunut tulevaisuudesta. |
Nervousness and Annoyance
Similarly, when you get nervous (hermostua) or annoyed (ärsyyntyä), the cause of the reaction takes the -sta or -stä ending.
| Don't get nervous about the exam! | Älä hermostu kokeesta! |
| I got annoyed by the loud noise. | Minä ärsyynnyin kovasta melusta. |
Surprise and Delight
The verbs yllättyä (to be surprised) and ilahtua (to be delighted) use the elative case for the source of the surprise or joy.
| We were surprised by the decision. | Me yllätyimme päätöksestä. |
| I was delighted by this gift. | Minä ilahduin tästä lahjasta. |
Caring
The verb välittää (to care) also governs the elative case.
| He does not care about the rules. | Hän ei välitä säännöistä. |