Numbers 1-100, ordinals, telling time in Finnish
I can use numbers 1-100 and tell time.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Minulla on kolme kissaa.
I have three cats.
Kello on puoli viisi.
It's half past four.
Bussi tulee kello kahdeksalta.
The bus comes at eight o'clock.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Finnish numbers are straightforward: teens = number + toista (of the second ten), tens = number + kymmentä. Time: 'puoli neljä' = half past three (half OF four, like German 'halb vier').
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesConfusing 'puoli neljä' (= 3:30, half of four). Numbers after 2 require partitive of the noun (kaksi koiraa).
Wrong interpretation of 'puoli X'
Puoli neljä = 3:30 (half of four). Like German/Russian/Czech pattern.
Forgetting partitive after numbers
After 2+: noun in partitive SINGULAR (kolme koiraa, not kolme koirat).
Minulla on kolme kissaa.
I have three cats.
Kolme + partitive (kissaa). After numbers 2+, the noun is in partitive SINGULAR.
Kello on puoli viisi.
It's half past four.
Puoli viisi = half of five = 4:30. Like German 'halb fünf' or Russian 'половина пятого'.
Bussi tulee kello kahdeksalta.
The bus comes at eight o'clock.
Kahdeksan → kahdeksalta (ablative = 'at' a time). Time 'at X' uses ablative.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises