Breakdown of Hän pystyy säästämään paljon.
hän
he / she
paljon
a lot
säästää
to save (money, resources)
pystyä
to be able to, to manage
Questions & Answers about Hän pystyy säästämään paljon.
Why is the subject hän and not hänen like we learned for pitää?
Unlike the obligation verbs pitää and kannattaa, which require a genitive subject like hänen, the verb pystyä (to be able to) acts like a regular verb. It takes a normal nominative subject, which is why we use hän here.
Why is the verb for 'to save' written as säästämään instead of the basic form säästää?
The verb pystyä requires the verb that follows it to be in a special form ending in -maan or -mään (the third infinitive illative). This is a big contrast to pitää and kannattaa, which take the basic dictionary form. If we used pitää, it would be hänen pitää säästää, but with pystyä it becomes hän pystyy säästämään.
What is the difference between pystyä and voida? They both mean 'can' or 'to be able to'.
While both mean 'can', pystyä emphasizes having the actual physical, mental, or financial ability to do something. voida is more general and often implies having the opportunity or permission to do something. Also, their grammar is different: voida is followed by the basic dictionary form, while pystyä needs the -maan or -mään ending.
How do I know whether to add -maan or -mään to the end of the second verb?
This follows the rule of vowel harmony. If the verb stem contains front vowels like y, ä, or ö, you use -mään. Because säästää contains ä, the ending becomes -mään. If the verb had back vowels like a, o, or u (for example, nukkua), you would use -maan (nukkumaan).
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