This course will re-open in November 2018.

Sign up for updates.

Get updates!

What's included

in Case by Case

  • The form

    This course will systematically teach you how to form all the Finnish cases.

  • The meaning

    After you learn the form, you will learn the meaning and how you can use each case.

  • Practice

    No overwhelm - practise what you've learnt after each little step.

The contents of the course:

  • 1
    Week 1: The partitive singular
  • 2
    Week 2: The genitive singular
    • Instructions for chapter 2
    • (Most of) Chapter 2 vocabulary
    • Quizlet: Chapter 2 vocabulary
    • Video 1: Introduction
    • Video 2: What does the genitive look like?
    • 2.1. Drag and Drop exercise: Nominative or Genitive?
    • 2.2. Drag the words - Nominative or Genitive?
    • Video 3: Postpositions
    • Vocabulary list: Postposition examples (included in next exercise)
    • 3.1. Quizlet: Learn some common postpositions
    • 3.2. Exercises: Practise the postpositions in sentences
    • Video 4 - the "normal" KPT
    • 4.1. Exercise: Mark the KPT words
    • 4.2. Exercises: Practise the KPT in the genitive
    • Video 5 - the reverse KPT
    • Video 6: Word types - the introduction
    • Video 7: The word types - Words ending in A, O, Y, Ä, Ö
    • 7.2. Exercises: Words ending in A, Ä, O, Y, U
    • Video 8: Loan words that end in 'i'
    • 8.1. Exercises: Loan words that end in 'i'
    • Video 9: 'Järvi' words
    • 9.1. Exercises: Words like 'järvi'
    • Video 10: 'pieni' words
    • 10.1. Exercises: Words like 'pieni'
    • Video 11: 'uusi' words
    • 11.1. Exercises: Words like 'uusi'
    • Video 12: e-ending words
    • 12.1. Exercises: Words that end in 'e'
    • Video 13: One-syllable words (that end in a vowel)
    • 13.1. Exercises: One-syllable words that end in a vowel
    • Listening and spelling 1
    • Listening and spelling 2
    • Exercise for more advanced learners
    • Online class
  • 3
    Week 3: Word types ending in a consonant
    • Week 3 vocabulary
    • Week 3 vocabulary PDF
    • Excel with examples of cases
    • Word types: '-nen'
    • Exercise: Find 'nen' words
    • Exercise: 'nen' words
    • Word types: 'ton/tön'
    • Exercise: Find 'ton' words
    • Exercise: Connect the parts
    • Word types: 'as' / 'äs'
    • Exercise: Find 'as / äs' words
    • Exercise: Write the nominative (-ton/-tön)
    • Word types: 'is'
    • Exercise: What is the nominative? (-is words)
    • Word types: 2 vowels and 's'
    • Exercise: words ending in 2 wovels + 's'
    • Word types 'us / ys / os / ös / es'
    • Exercise: 'us / ys / os / ös / es
    • Word types: 'in'
    • Exercise: '-in' words
    • Word types: 'ut / yt'
    • Exercise: 'ut / yt'
    • Word types: 'nut / nyt'
    • Exercise: 'nut/nyt'
    • Word types: 'el / en / er / ar' ('jäsen')
    • Word types: 'tar'
    • Exercise: 'tar / tär'
    • Word types: Loan words that end in a consonant
    • Exercise: Loan words ending in a consonant
    • Apply what you've learnt: The genitive and "I have to" sentences
    • Exercises: "täytyy" / "pitää" sentences
    • Genitive adjective as intensifier or expressing attitude
    • Exercise: Genitive adjective
    • Listening and spelling
    • Online class
  • 4
    Week 4: The local cases part 1: the inessive, the elative and the illative
    • Introduction to the illative, inessive and elative
    • Mouse and the box image
    • Week 4 vocabulary Quizlet
    • Vocabulary week 4 PDF
    • Video: The inessive and the elative
    • Video: The illative
    • Examples of the cases learnt so far (PDF)
    • Examples of the cases learnt so far (Excel)
    • Missä? Mihin?
    • Olen kotoisin...
    • Elative ending (-sta / -stä)
    • Illative endings
    • Inessive ending (-ssa / -ssä)
    • Advanced exercise: Idioms
    • Puhekieli
    • Listening and spelling practice
    • Online class
  • 5
    Week 5: The local cases part 2: the adessive, the ablative and the allative
    • Quizlet: Week 5 vocabulary
    • Week 5 vocabulary PDF
    • Video: Forming the exterior local cases
    • Practise forming the adessive, the ablative and the allative
    • Fill in the endings and the nominative
    • For students to update: Google sheet with examples
    • Video: The basic use of the exterior local cases
    • Flexible examples
    • A few words about Finnish cities and towns...
    • Exercise: Finnish cities
    • Exercise: Choose the ending & translation
    • Practise mixing the cases 1
    • Practise mixing the cases 2
    • Practise mixing the cases 3
    • Existential sentences
    • Exercises: Existential sentence or not?
    • Listening and spelling
    • Puhekieli
    • Online class
  • 6
    Week 6: Local cases – revision
    • Introduction
    • Week 6 vocabulary
    • Week 6 vocabulary PDF
    • Local cases presentation "Diving deeper"
    • "Diving Deeper" in PDF
    • Numerals and cases
    • Milloin? Monelta? Expressions of time + interior local cases
    • Milloin? Monelta? Expressions of time + exterior local cases
    • Millä? Instruments, vehicles, methods
    • Kenestä? - Opinions (elative)
    • Keneltä? Kenelle? Kenellä?
    • Elative: "Something becomes out of something/someone"
    • Thanks/congratulations
    • Milloin? Monelta? Expressions of time (advanced learners)
    • Clothes and body parts
    • Exercise: Clothes and body parts
  • 7
    Week 7: Case government, idioms & not-so-obvious meanings of cases
    • Video: Case government
    • Introducing the list of combinations
    • Pronouns in different cases
    • Word + case combinations
    • Exercise 1
    • Exercise 2
    • Exercise 3
    • Exercise 4
    • Exercise 5
    • Exercise 6
    • Exercise 7
  • 8
    Week 8: The object and its cases
    • The introduction
    • Video: What is an object?
    • Video: Object cases
    • Exercise A
    • Video: Walking you through exercise A
    • Exercise B
    • Exercise C
    • Exercise D
    • Video: Partitive object
    • Video: Walking you through exercise B
    • Video: Genitive object (and nominative)
    • Video: Walking you through exercise C
    • Video: Walking you through exercise D
    • Exercise E
    • Video: Walking you through exercise E
    • The list of partitive verbs (instructions)
    • A few partitive verbs
    • Exercise F
    • Exercise G
    • Slightly more difficult exercises
    • Help with "Slightly more difficult exercises"
    • Exercise H
    • Wed Zoom
    • Thu Zoom
  • 9
    Week 9: The object and its cases
    • Week 9 vocabulary
    • Week 9 vocabulary PDF
    • Personal pronouns as object
    • Personal pronouns in the accusative
    • What is the partitive verb?
    • Some partitive verbs listed
    • Partitive object or total object?
    • Explanation to video "Partitive object or total object?"
    • Instructions for Exercise A
    • Exercise A: End result or no end result?
    • Exercise B
    • Exercise C
    • Explanation to Exercise C - Click on the "+" to expand
    • Exercise D
    • Exercise E
    • Link to an article (advanced learners)
    • Instructions for filling out the object sheet
    • Object sheet for the article
    • KEY for Object sheet
    • Thu Zoom
  • 10
    Week 10: The essive and the translative
    • Vocabulary PDF for week 10
    • Quizlet Vocabulary for week 10
    • The Essive Presentation
    • Essive Excercise A
    • Essive Exercise B
    • Essive Exercise C
    • Essive Exercise D
    • Essive Exercise E
    • Essive Exercise F
    • Essive Exercise G
    • The Translative Presentation
    • Translative Exercise A
    • Translative Exercise B
    • Translative Exercise C
    • Translative Exercise D
    • Translative Exercise E
    • Translative Exercise F
    • Translative Exercise G
    • Zoom
  • 11
    Week 11: The nominative plural + introduction to the i-plural
    • Introduction to the plural
    • How to form the t-plural
    • Listen and write the plural
    • Exercise 1: T-plural
    • When to use the t-plural
    • Exercise 2: The t-plural in sentences
    • Listen and write the missing word
    • Instructions for the following spelling exercises
    • Listen and write: from t-plural to partitive plural
    • Listen and write the missing word
    • Advanced: Find all the t-plural words
    • T-plurals in the article
    • Zoom
  • 12
    Week 12: Plural stems and case endings
    • Week 12 vocabulary
    • Timestamp for the video
    • How to form the i-plural - part 1
    • -O, -ö, -u, -y -ending stem
    • E-ending stem
    • 2 syllables, ä-ending
    • 2 syllables, -a-ending, first vowel is o or u
    • 2 syllables, -a-ending
    • Word/stem ending in -i
    • Stem ending in double vowel
    • How to form the i-plural part 2: Multisyllable words that end in -a or -ä
    • Words endings in 2 vowels + -s (type 'salaisuus')
    • 3 or more syllables, stem ends in -a/-ä
    • The plural endings for the partitive, illative and genitive
    • Sort the plural partitive, illative and genitive
    • Talking about holidays - slightly more difficult
    • Quantity + partitive
    • Quantity word + plural partitive
    • Fill in the gaps - sentences with i-plural words
    • Advanced: Text about the metro
  • 13
    Week 13: The illative/partitive/genitive plural - Practising the plural
    • How to form the illative plural
    • Practise the illative plural
    • How to form the partitive plural - part 1
    • How to form the partitive plural - part 2
    • Practise forming the plural partitive
    • How to use the partitive plural - part 1
    • How to use the partitive plural - part 2
    • How to use the partitive plural - part 3
    • Students' sentences
    • Nominative plural or partitive plural?
    • How to use the partitive plural - part 4 - ADVANCED
    • Nominative plural or partitive plural? (Advanced)
    • How to form the genitive plural
    • Practise the genitive plural
    • Mixing the plurals (Advanced)
  • 14
    Week 14: The abessive, the instructive, the comitative
    • This chapter's exercises
    • The abessive - part 1
    • Abessive - option 1
    • Abessive - option 2 - with other cases
    • Ways to use the 3rd infinitive in the abessive
    • Exercise: Abessive and the 3rd infinitive
    • The instructive
    • Instructive - option 1
    • Instructive - option 2 - with other cases
    • The comitative
    • Comitative - option 1
    • Comitative - option 2 - with other cases
    • Extra plural exercises: What case?

Instructor(s)

  • Emmi Seppälä

    Online Finnish instructor

    Emmi Seppälä

    Moi ja tervetuloa! My name is Emmi and I'm from the beautiful city of Helsinki, Finland. I have always loved languages (I speak 5!) After I finished high school, I worked and studied abroad for a good while, and I never, ever thought I'd become a teacher. However, the 8 years I spent living and travelling in different countries gave me a strong desire to help other people achieve their goals via languages. So, I ended up taking a TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in Madrid in 2014. One of the best decisions I ever made! Since then, I have been teaching languages offline and online while working on my Master's degree (English philology) and teacher qualification at the University of Helsinki. I created Finking Cap so I could help Finnish learners from all over the world make sense out of the language. Finnish is such a unique language that students can easily feel overwhelmed. I want to make sure that Finnish eventually makes sense to you and that you can take charge of improving your Finnish skills every day. About the way I teach: I'm very pragmatic and I do what works. I don't focus on a specific theory about language learning. Even though I teach a lot of grammar, I invest heavily in "making Finnish make sense", and I focus on topics that I believe are going to be useful in the long run.