The Genitive Plural
The genitive plural case expresses ownership or connection involving multiple things. It is the plural equivalent of the singular genitive (-n) and translates to English as "of the" or a plural possessive like "-s'".
Because Finnish words have different stem types, the genitive plural has several possible endings, built on the plural marker -i-.
The Endings: -en and -jen
The most common endings are -en and -jen. Add -en to the plural stem. If the plural -i- falls between two vowels, it often becomes a -j-, making the ending -jen.
| The color of the stars is often white. | Tähtien väri on usein valkoinen. |
| We are listening to the loud sound of the rockets. | Me kuuntelemme rakettien kovaa ääntä. |
| The planets' moons are small. | Planeettojen kuut ovat pieniä. |
The Endings: -den and -iden
Words ending in a long vowel or a diphthong often take -den or -iden. Notice how demonstrative pronouns like nämä (these) also change to match the case, becoming näiden.
| Do you know the names of these moons? | Tiedätkö näiden kuiden nimet? |
| The researchers' telescope is new. | Tutkijoiden kaukoputki on uusi. |
The Endings: -ten and -tten
Words ending in -nen follow a specific pattern: the -nen changes to -is- before adding -ten.
| We are looking at pictures of distant stars. | Me katsomme kaukaisten tähtien kuvia. |
Adjective Agreement
Adjectives must match the noun they modify. If a noun is in the genitive plural, its adjective also takes a genitive plural ending.
| Is the gas of the large planets cold? | Onko isojen planeettojen kaasu kylmää? |