Breakdown of Tiedän, että haluatte halata toisianne.
tietää
to know
haluta
to want
että
that (conjunction)
toisiaan
each other (also toisiamme, toisianne)
Questions & Answers about Tiedän, että haluatte halata toisianne.
How do we build the word toisianne to mean "each other" here?
To say "each other", Finnish uses the plural forms of toinen (other). Since the verb halata (to hug) requires a partitive object, we use the plural partitive form toisia. Then, because the subject is "you" (plural), we add the matching possessive suffix -nne (your). Together, toisia and -nne make toisianne.
Why does the verb halata require the partitive case for "each other"?
Verbs that express emotions or ongoing physical actions, like hugging, loving, or waiting, usually take a partitive object. Because the action doesn't have a strict endpoint or result in a total change, the object takes the partitive form.
Is the comma before että mandatory?
Yes. Unlike English, where you can often drop the comma or even the word "that", Finnish punctuation rules require a comma right before the conjunction että when it introduces a new clause.
Why is halata not conjugated to match the "you" subject?
In a verb chain like "want to hug", only the first verb changes to match the subject, which gives us haluatte (you want). The second verb stays in its basic dictionary form, the infinitive, which is halata.