Breakdown of Minun pitää valvoa, koska taapero itkee.
minä
I
koska
because
itkeä
to cry
pitää
must / have to
Questions & Answers about Minun pitää valvoa, koska taapero itkee.
Why is it minun instead of minä?
This is the standard "necessive" structure in Finnish, which is always good to review. When saying someone "must" or "has to" do something, the person is put in the genitive case (minun), followed by the necessity verb (like pitää or täytyy) frozen in the third-person singular, and finally the main action in its basic dictionary form (valvoa).
Does valvoa always mean "to stay awake"?
It generally means "to stay awake" (often late into the night), but it can also mean "to supervise" or "to monitor". For example, an exam proctor or a security guard also valvoo. Here, staying awake because of a crying child fits perfectly.
Since this lesson is about the second infinitive instructive (-en), could I shorten the end of this sentence to use itkien (crying)?
Not with this meaning! The -en form describes the manner in which an action is performed (how you do it), not the reason for it. If you said Minun pitää valvoa itkien, it would mean you must stay awake crying! Because the toddler crying is the reason you are awake, you must use the conjunction koska (because) and a regular conjugated verb (itkee).
Could I use täytyy instead of pitää here?