Breakdown of Kun syvennyn tehtävään, unohdan kaiken muun.
unohtaa
to forget
tehtävä
task
muu
other, else
kaikki
all, everything, everyone
kun
when (conjunction)
syventyä
to delve, to immerse oneself
Questions & Answers about Kun syvennyn tehtävään, unohdan kaiken muun.
Why is tehtävä in the illative case (tehtävään) here?
The verb syventyä (to delve into, to immerse oneself) requires the illative case (the "into" case). This is exactly like other verbs of committing or reacting you are currently learning, such as keskittyä (to concentrate). In Finnish grammar, you immerse yourself into a task rather than in it.
Could I use keskityn instead of syvennyn in this sentence?
Yes, and the grammar would remain exactly the same: Kun keskityn tehtävään... because both verbs require the illative case. The meaning just shifts slightly from immersing yourself in the task (syventyä) to concentrating on it (keskittyä).
How is the verb syventyä built?
It comes from the adjective syvä (deep). The suffix -ntyä is often used to create reflexive verbs meaning "to become [adjective]". So syventyä essentially means "to deepen oneself" into something, which translates to "delve into" or "immerse oneself".
Why is "everything else" written as kaiken muun instead of the dictionary form kaikki muu?
It is the total object of the verb unohtaa (to forget). Because you are forgetting the entirety of "everything else," it takes the accusative case. For singular words and pronouns, the accusative looks exactly like the genitive, which is why both words end in -n.
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