Breakdown of Hän yrittää muistaa säännön toistamalla sitä.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
hän
he / she
muistaa
to remember
sääntö
rule
yrittää
to try
toistaa
to repeat
Questions & Answers about Hän yrittää muistaa säännön toistamalla sitä.
How does toistamalla translate to "by repeating"?
This is the third infinitive adessive form of the verb toistaa (to repeat). You form it by taking the verb stem (toista-) and adding the suffix -malla (or -mällä, depending on vowel harmony). It is used to express how or by what means an action is achieved.
Why is "the rule" (säännön) in the genitive case, but "it" (sitä) in the partitive case?
Because they are the objects of two different verbs! Säännön is the object of muistaa (to remember). Successfully remembering something is viewed as a completed action, so it takes the total object case. On the other hand, sitä is the object of toistamalla (by repeating). Repeating is naturally an ongoing, continuous action, so toistaa requires its object to be in the partitive.
What happens to the word sääntö (rule) when it becomes säännön?
Adding the -n suffix closes the final syllable, which triggers consonant gradation. The strong -nt- combination in the middle of sääntö weakens to a double -nn-, resulting in säännön.
Why is muistaa in its basic dictionary form?
It is part of a verb chain with yrittää (to try). The verb yrittää requires the verb that follows it to be in the basic first infinitive form. Just like in English ("tries to remember"), only the first verb (yrittää) is conjugated to match the subject (hän).
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