Breakdown of Opiskelijan on tärkeä muistaa, että sopeutuminen vaatii uuden tulkinnan.
olla
to be
uusi
new
opiskelija
student
muistaa
to remember
tärkeä
important
että
that (conjunction)
vaatia
to claim (demand)
tulkinta
the interpretation
sopeutuminen
the adaptation
Questions & Answers about Opiskelijan on tärkeä muistaa, että sopeutuminen vaatii uuden tulkinnan.
Why do we use the genitive opiskelijan instead of a word like opiskelijalle?
This sentence uses the genitive experiencer structure. To say that it is a certain way for someone to do an action, Finnish puts the person experiencing it in the genitive case (opiskelijan) followed by on, the adjective, and the first infinitive (muistaa). Translating 'for the student' directly as opiskelijalle would sound unnatural here.
Could I use the partitive tärkeää instead of the nominative tärkeä in this sentence?
Yes, in spoken and everyday Finnish, using the partitive tärkeää in this structure is extremely common and natural. However, traditional grammar rules state that when the true subject of the sentence is an infinitive action (muistaa), the adjective evaluating it should be in the nominative (tärkeä). You will often see this formal rule applied in written texts and standard Finnish.
Why does vaatii take the genitive-looking accusative object uuden tulkinnan rather than the partitive?
The verb vaatia (to require) typically takes a total object when it implies a complete result or a singular, countable thing like an interpretation. Because the subordinate clause has a regular nominative subject (sopeutuminen), the total object takes the standard -n ending. If the sentence required an uncountable mass noun, the partitive would be used instead.
How is the word sopeutuminen formed and what is its role here?
It is a verbal noun, often known as the -minen noun. It is formed by taking the verb sopeutua (to adapt) and adding the -minen suffix, which turns the verb into a noun representing the action or process itself. Here, it acts as the nominative subject of the subordinate clause, translating smoothly to the English noun 'adaptation'.
Learn Opiskelijan on tärkeä muistaa, että sopeutuminen vaatii uuden tulkinnan and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free