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Questions & Answers about Päästä minut!
The verb here looks exactly like the infinitive päästä (to get to / to reach). Is it the same word?
No, in this sentence päästä is actually the command form (imperative) of the transitive verb päästää (to release, to let go). You form the imperative by taking the 'minä' form (minä päästän) and dropping the -n. If you wanted to command someone using the verb päästä (to get to), the imperative would be pääse.
I learned that objects usually drop their ending in commands. Why does minut still have its -t ending?
It is true that regular nouns drop their accusative -n ending in commands (for example, Avaa ovi! instead of Avaa oven!). However, personal pronouns like minä have a special accusative form ending in -t (minut, sinut, hänet). These pronouns are an exception to the rule: they always keep their -t ending when they are total objects, even in commands.
Could I use the partitive object minua here instead of minut?
Using the partitive minua would sound very strange here. Releasing someone is generally a complete, finished action, not a continuous or partial one. Because you want to be completely let go, you must use the total object form minut.
Since this lesson is about verb rections, how does päästää behave if I want to add another verb to this sentence?