The subject of a negative sentence is put in the partitive, in cases where we should say in English,—‘There is not’ or ‘there is no.’ Ei ole täällä ihmisiä, there are no men here. In such a sentence as en ole merilohia, syvän aallon ahvenia (Kal. v. 122), I am not a salmon, the partitive must be explained as indicating a class, I am not one of the salmons. In ordinary Finnish the partitive is only used in this way with determining adjectives. Thus one says, En ole vaimo, I am not a woman; but En ole niitä vaimoja jotka unhottavat miehensä, I am not one of the women who forget their husbands.
III. The object is put in the partitive whenever it is not total (vide rules given above, p. [127]). Juoda kahvia, to drink some coffee; poika lukee kirjaa, the boy is reading the book. The object of a negative verb is always regarded as partial. Poika ei antanut kirjaa, the boy did not give the book. Hevonen ei jaksanut vetää kuormaa, the horse could not carry the load.
V. As stated in the rules given p. [123], the complement of a sentence is put in the partitive when it expresses a whole of which the subject is a part. The partitive is particularly used to express the substance of which a thing is made. Sormus on kultaa, the ring is gold. Kieli on lihaa ja hampaat ovat luuta, the tongue is flesh, and the teeth are bone.
VI. In a sentence expressing comparison the word kuin (than) can be omitted, and the word which follows the comparative be put in the partitive. Kuu on pienempi kuin aurinko, or kuu on pienempi aurinkoa, the moon is smaller than the sun. Pietari on suurempi Helsinkiä, St. Petersburg is larger than Helsingfors. Eikö Abanan ja Pharpharan wirrat Damaskussa ole kaikkia Israelin vesiä paremmat? Are not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
VII. Adjectives expressing height or size require the partitive. Kirkon torni on kaksi sataa jalkaa korkea, the church tower is 200 feet high. Joki on kaksikymmentä jalkaa syvä, the river is 200 feet deep. Silta on puolta virstaa pitkä, the bridge is half a verst long.
VIII. The partitive is used in salutations, exclamations, etc., where it is to be explained by the omission of some word. Hyvää iltaa, hyvää huomenta (I wish you) good morning; kiitoksia, thanks; terveisiä, my compliments; mahdotonta! impossible! kauheaa, horrible! So too in such expressions as voi päiviäni.
Accusative.
I. The direct object of a finite active verb, if not in the imperative, is put in the accusative, when the action of the verb is regarded as total (vide p. [126]). Isä ostaa kirjan pojalle, the father buys the book for the boy. Kauppamies saa rahat, the merchant receives the money.