Breakdown of Hänen täytyy lähteä sunnuntaina.
hän
he / she
lähteä
to leave
täytyä
to have to
sunnuntai
Sunday
hänen
his, her, hers
Questions & Answers about Hänen täytyy lähteä sunnuntaina.
Why does sunnuntai have -na at the end?
The ending -na is the essive case. In this lesson, we use it to say that something happens on a specific day of the week. So sunnuntai means Sunday, and sunnuntaina means on Sunday.
Why is the word for he/she Hänen instead of just Hän?
The verb täytyy (must) is a special necessity verb. In Finnish, the person who must do something has to be put into the genitive case (the possession form, ending in -n). Literally, this sentence is constructed a bit like for him there is a need to leave.
If the subject is he, why isn't the verb to leave conjugated as lähtee?
Because we have the verb täytyy in the sentence. When you use täytyy, the action verb that follows it must stay in its basic dictionary form (the infinitive). That is why we use lähteä instead of lähtee.
Would täytyy change if the sentence was I must leave on Sunday?
No, täytyy is an exception in Finnish because it never changes its ending to match the person doing the action. It is always just täytyy. Only the person word changes to the genitive case, so I must would be Minun täytyy.
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