CEFR A2 in Finnish: what you can do

At A2 you stop collecting single words and start building sentences. You can handle short, predictable exchanges: shopping, travel, work and family. Grammar is where Finnish starts to ask for effort. The cases and the stem changes are the main thing at this level, and they make the difference between a learner who sounds stuck and one who sounds natural.

What you can do

• Talk about your day, your family, your work and your free time.
• Describe the past in simple sentences: Eilen kävin kaupassa.
• Ask for and give directions, and buy tickets or food.
• Invite someone and answer an invitation: Haluatko tulla kahville?
• Go to a pharmacy or a doctor and say what is wrong: Minulla on päänsärkyä. (In speech, the partitive is the usual form for symptoms.)

A quick self-check

You are probably at A2 if you can do most of these:

• Say what you did yesterday and what you will do tomorrow.
• Use the right place case for "in, from and to" with common places.
• Say kaksi kahvia (two coffees) without thinking about it.
• Read a short message or notice and find the main point.

Typical grammar at A2

The past tense

For most verbs, the past tense replaces the present vowel with -i-. Negative past sentences use the negative verb and a special form of the verb.

Look at lukea: luin is weak (closed syllable), luki is strong. That is consonant gradation again (see consonant gradation).

The place cases

You now use all six: talossa, talosta, taloon, pöydällä, pöydältä, pöydälle. Practise with the question words missä? mistä? mihin? (see place cases). For example: Bussi lähtee asemalta. (The bus leaves from the station.)

The partitive

The partitive is used for amounts, for things in the negative, and for unfinished actions: Haluan kahvia. Minulla ei ole autoa. Luen kirjaa. Compare Luin kirjan, where the whole book was read. See the partitive.

Numbers

After a number above one, the noun is in the partitive singular: kaksi kahvia, viisi euroa, kolme kissaa. After yksi the noun is in the basic form: yksi kahvi.

Having and being able

Finnish says "at me is": Minulla on koira. (I have a dog.) Minulla ei ole autoa. (I do not have a car.) Ability uses osata (know how to) and voida (be able to): Osaan puhua suomea. Voin tulla huomenna.

Time

Kello on kolme. (It is three o'clock.) Herään kello seitsemän. (I wake up at seven.) Days and months are not capitalised.

Vocabulary themes

• Daily routines, hobbies and free time
• Family, friends and work
• Health: the pharmacy, the doctor, simple symptoms
• Travel: buses, trains, tickets, directions
• Weather, seasons and months

What you may find hard

• Gradation. Kauppa gives kaupassa, and katu gives kadulla. Learn the basic form and one other form of every new noun.
• Choosing the partitive. The rules are simple in theory, but you need practice to hear them.
• Plural. Kenkä gives kengät, and several endings get an -i- in the plural. Learn the plural for common words.
• Listening. Finns speak fast, and everyday speech drops letters (see the blog post on spoken and written Finnish).

Exams and courses

The YKI basic band covers A1 and A2. If you are applying for a course or a job that needs a certificate, check which level is required. Many people also attend adult education courses in the evening.

How to practise at this level

Practise the cases with real places: shops, streets, your town. Read asking for directions aloud and make up your own versions. When ready, move on to B1.

Practice

Remember that the past tense has -i-, that numbers take the partitive, and that "I have" is minulla on.