When giving a formal speech, you will often need to thank or congratulate people. In Finnish, these verbs require their objects to be in specific cases. This is called verb rection.
Congratulating (Onnitella)
The verb onnitella (to congratulate) requires two cases:
- The person you are congratulating takes the partitive case.
- The reason for congratulating takes the elative case (
-sta/-stä).
| We want to congratulate the wedding couple on this marriage. | Haluamme onnitella hääparia tästä avioliitosta. |
Thanking (Kiittää)
The verb kiittää (to thank) behaves exactly the same way. The person being thanked takes the partitive, and the reason takes the elative. Modifiers like adjectives and demonstrative pronouns (e.g., tämä) must also match the elative ending.
| We thank the maid of honor for this wonderful speech. | Kiitämme kaasoa tästä upeasta puheesta. |
If the reason includes a possessive suffix (like "your presence"), the suffix attaches directly to the end of the elative case ending.
| I thank you for your presence today. | Kiitän teitä läsnäolostanne tänään. |
Raising a Toast
A formal speech often ends with a toast (nostaa malja). Unlike thanking or congratulating, when you dedicate a toast to someone or something, the recipient takes the allative case (-lle).
| Let us raise a toast to this new marriage, shall we! | Nostetaanhan malja tälle uudelle avioliitolle! |
Putting It All Together
No matter who is speaking or how long the sentence is, kiittää and onnitella always demand the elative case for the reason.
| The wedding couple thanks everyone for this important support. | Hääpari kiittää kaikkia tästä tärkeästä tuesta. |