Expressing "To Like": Pitää and Tykätä
In Finnish, two common verbs express liking something: pitää (standard) and tykätä (colloquial).
The Elative Case Ending (-sta/-stä)
Certain verbs in Finnish dictate the case of their objects, a concept called verb rection. Both pitää and tykätä require their objects to be in the elative case.
To form the elative case, add -sta or -stä to the inflected stem of the noun, following vowel harmony. While this case often translates to "out of" or "from," with these verbs, it simply marks the target of your liking.
Applying this ending triggers normal stem changes and consonant gradation.
- taide (art) -> taiteesta
- historia (history) -> historiasta
Negating Pitää and Tykätä
To say you do not like something, use the conjugated negative verb (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät) followed by the verb's negative stem (pidä or tykkää). The object still takes the -sta/-stä ending.
Consonant Gradation and Stem Changes in Action
Always apply consonant gradation and vowel changes when forming the elative case:
- luonto (nature) -> luonnosta (nt -> nn)
- shakki (chess) -> shakista (kk -> k)
- kieli (language) -> kielestä (final i -> e)
Using Both Verbs Together
You will hear both pitää and tykätä used frequently and interchangeably in everyday spoken Finnish.
Asking "What do you like?"
Because these verbs demand the elative case, the question word "what" (mikä) must also take the elative form: mistä.