Breakdown of Hänen pitää siirtää palkka tilille.
hän
he / she
siirtää
to move
pitää
must / have to
palkka
salary
Questions & Answers about Hänen pitää siirtää palkka tilille.
Why does the sentence start with hänen instead of hän?
The verb pitää (when used to mean "must" or "to have to") requires a "genitive subject". This means the person who has to do the action is put into the genitive case. Therefore, hän (he/she) becomes hänen.
Is pitää conjugated here?
Yes, but it is locked in the 3rd person singular form (the "it" form). With obligation verbs like pitää and kannattaa, you never conjugate the verb to match the person doing the action. The Finnish structure literally acts more like "It is necessary for him", which is why the verb form doesn't change.
Why is the object palkka in its basic form? Shouldn't it end in -n (like palkan)?
You are remembering the normal object rule! Usually, an object takes the -n ending (the genitive-accusative) when an action is completed. However, necessity verbs like pitää trigger a special exception: their objects drop the -n and stay in the basic nominative form. That is why it remains palkka.
Why do we use tilille (onto the account) instead of a case that means "into"?
When talking about bank accounts in Finnish, money is conceptually placed "on" them rather than inside them. When you transfer (siirtää) or pay money to an account, you use the allative case ending -lle (onto).