Learn Finnish: Budjetti taitaa olla liian pieni. - The budget seems to be too small.

Budjetti taitaa olla liian pieni.

The budget seems to be too small.

Breakdown of Budjetti taitaa olla liian pieni.

Questions & Answers about Budjetti taitaa olla liian pieni.

Why is the subject 'budjetti' in the basic form, instead of the genitive case like with 'pitää' or 'kannattaa'?

Even though taitaa (to seem to / to probably be) is a helper verb followed by the infinitive olla, it acts like a normal verb. It takes a regular nominative subject (budjetti). The genitive subject rule you are learning only applies to specific necessity verbs like pitää, täytyy, and kannattaa.

What exactly does 'taitaa' mean and how is it used here?

Taitaa expresses that something is probable. It translates to 'seems to' or 'is probably'. Just like in English, it is paired with the basic first infinitive form of the main verb, which is olla (to be) in this sentence.

How would this sentence look if we used the obligation verb 'pitää' instead?

If you wanted to say 'The budget has to be too small', you would use the rules from this lesson. The subject becomes genitive (budjetin) and you use the 3rd person singular verb: Budjetin pitää olla liian pieni.

Why is 'pieni' in the basic nominative form here?

Because the subject budjetti is in the basic nominative form and is a single countable thing, the adjective describing it (pieni) also stays in the basic nominative singular form.