Breakdown of Hän aikoo ruveta harjoittelemaan itsepuolustusta.
hän
he / she
harjoitella
to practice
aikoa
to intend, to be going to
ruveta
to start (doing something, to undertake)
itsepuolustus
the self-defense
Questions & Answers about Hän aikoo ruveta harjoittelemaan itsepuolustusta.
Why does harjoitella become harjoittelemaan here?
This is because of the verb ruveta (to start). While the verb alkaa (to start) takes the basic 1st infinitive (like alkaa harjoitella), ruveta requires the following verb to be in the 3rd infinitive illative form, which ends in -maan or -mään.
Since ruveta means "to start", why isn't it conjugated to match hän?
It is part of a verb chain driven by aikoo (from aikoa, to intend). The verb aikoa demands that the verb immediately following it be in the basic 1st infinitive form. Therefore, hän aikoo requires the dictionary form ruveta, and then ruveta in turn dictates the -maan form of the final verb.
Could I use alkaa instead of ruveta in this sentence?
Yes, you could say Hän aikoo alkaa harjoitella itsepuolustusta. Both mean starting an activity. Ruveta sometimes has a slightly more active or colloquial feel, like "taking up" a new habit, but they are essentially interchangeable. The crucial difference is just the grammar they force onto the next verb!
Why is the word for self-defense, itsepuolustusta, in the partitive case?
It is the object of the verb harjoitella (to practice). Practicing is an ongoing, open-ended action without a fixed completion point (an irresultative action). Verbs that describe ongoing processes like this generally require their object to be in the partitive case.
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