In Finnish, verbs are inflected according to the person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and number (singular, plural). The suffixes presented in this table are fairly regular across different verbs. However, sometimes adding the ending can cause changes in the verb stem.
| Person & Number |
olla 'to be' |
asu|a 'to live' |
puhu|a 'to speak' |
| 1st person singular -n
2nd person singular -t 3rd person singular (various endings but usually a vowel) 1st person plural -mme 2nd person plural -tte 3rd person plural -vat or -vät |
minä olen
sinä olet hän/se on me olemme te olette he/ne ovat |
minä asun
sinä asut hän/se asuu me asumme te asutte he/ne asuvat |
minä puhun
sinä puhut hän/se puhuu me puhumme te puhutte he/ne puhuvat |
Last reviewed: December 13, 1997.
Please send comments to: paivir@fiat.gslis.utexas.edu