In English, plural quantities usually take a plural verb. In Finnish, when a subject starts with a number greater than one, the verb remains in the third-person singular.
The number takes its basic form, the noun following it is in the partitive singular, and the verb treats the entire group as a single grammatical unit.
| Ten ants carry food. | Kymmenen muurahaista kantaa ruokaa. |
| A hundred ants are building a mound for the winter. | Sata muurahaista rakentaa kekoa talveksi. |
Large Numbers
This rule applies strictly, no matter how large the quantity is. Whether you are talking about five bees or a thousand ants, the verb stays singular.
| Five bees sit in the flower. | Viisi mehiläistä istuu kukassa. |
| A thousand ants live in the mound. | Tuhat muurahaista asuu keossa. |
Collective Nouns
The same logic applies to words that describe a collective group, such as yhdyskunta (colony) or parvi (swarm). Even though a hive contains thousands of insects, the noun itself is singular, so the verb must also be singular.
| The colony searches for food in the forest. | Yhdyskunta etsii ruokaa metsästä. |
| A swarm of bees flies into the tree. | Parvi mehiläisiä lentää puuhun. |
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