Log inSign up

Jopa veljeni pyrkii samaan ammattikorkeakouluun.

Jopa veljeni pyrkii samaan ammattikorkeakouluun.
Even my brother is applying to the same university of applied sciences.
From Lesson 379:Goal-oriented verbs (illative)·Finnish

Questions & Answers about Jopa veljeni pyrkii samaan ammattikorkeakouluun.

Why is "samaan ammattikorkeakouluun" in the illative (into) case instead of being a direct object?
The verb pyrkiä (to strive, aim, or apply) is a goal-oriented verb. In Finnish, verbs expressing an aim or movement toward a goal require the illative case for the target. You are essentially striving into the school.
I usually use the verb hakea when talking about applying to schools. Can I use it here instead of pyrkiä?
Yes, you could say hakea samaan ammattikorkeakouluun, as both verbs require the illative case. However, pyrkiä carries a stronger sense of striving, competing, or making a real effort to get admitted, whereas hakea simply refers to the concrete process of submitting an application.
Why does the word for "same" also get an illative ending to become samaan?
In Finnish, modifiers like pronouns and adjectives must agree with the case of the noun they describe. Because the verb pyrkiä forces the school into the illative (ammattikorkeakouluun), the modifier sama must also take the matching illative ending.
Ammattikorkeakouluun is a very long word. Do Finns actually say this entire word in everyday casual speech?
Rarely! It is usually abbreviated to AMK. If you wanted to use the abbreviation in this sentence, you would attach the illative ending to it with a colon, making it samaan AMK:hon.

Learn Jopa veljeni pyrkii samaan ammattikorkeakouluun 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
Start learning Finnish →