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Verb type 1

In Finnish the first verb type is the most common type and are subject to consonant gradation.

Pattern

Verbs ending in 2 vowels, such as: -aa, -ea, -eä, -ia, -iä, -oa, -ua, -yä, -ää, -öä. For example:

Stem

Type 1 verbs have two stems: a weak stem and a strong stem. Weak stems are used for the personal forms of minä, sinä, me and te, while the strong stems are used for the personal forms of hän and he. Consonant gradation only takes place when conjugating the weak stems of type 1 verbs.

Examples of weak and strong stems

Lukea

  • Minä luen → The weak stem is Lue-
  • He lukevat → The strong stem is Luke-

Ymmärtää

  • Minä ymmärrän → The weak stem is Ymmärrä-
  • He ymmärtävät → The strong stem is Ymmärtä-

Odottaa

  • Minä odotan → The weak stem is Odota-
  • He odottavat → The strong stem is Odottaa-

More about type 1 verb stems can be found from Figuring out the Finnish verb stems(Opens in new window) by Random Finnish Lesson.

Examples of type 1 verb conjugations

Type 1 verb gotchas

Some type 1 verbs don’t behave as expected when conjugated. For example, the verbs Tietää, Hoitaa and Säätää share similar ending patterns but their past tense conjugations differ. Tietää becomes minä tiesin while Hoitaa and Säätää become minä hoidin and minä säädin respectively. Information about these differences can be found from this Uusikielemme article(Opens in new window).

Common type 1 verbs