Breakdown of Hänellä on vihdoin aikaa aloittaa uusi kielikurssi.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
uusi
new
aika
time (concept, duration)
vihdoin
finally
aloittaa
to start (something)
kielikurssi
language course
Questions & Answers about Hänellä on vihdoin aikaa aloittaa uusi kielikurssi.
Why is the word for time in the partitive form (aikaa) here?
This is the core of the possessive resource structure. When expressing that someone has an abstract or uncountable resource to do something—like time (aikaa), money (rahaa), or the means (varaa)—Finnish uses the adessive subject (hänellä), the verb on, the partitive resource noun, and then the basic 1st infinitive (aloittaa).
Why is the object uusi kielikurssi in its basic nominative form instead of the genitive (uuden kielikurssin)?
This is a crucial object rule to remember: total objects take the basic nominative form instead of the genitive-looking accusative when the sentence lacks a true grammatical nominative subject. Because this sentence is a "have" construction where the "doer" is in the adessive case (hänellä), the object of the infinitive (aloittaa) stays in the nominative form.
Could I use the verb alkaa instead of aloittaa for starting the course?
No, because you need a transitive verb here (a verb that acts upon an object). Aloittaa means "to start [something]", so it correctly acts on the object uusi kielikurssi. Alkaa generally means "[something] starts" and does not take a direct object, so you would only use it for a sentence like Uusi kielikurssi alkaa (The new language course starts).
Why is the adverb vihdoin placed between the verb and the resource noun?
In Finnish "have" constructions, it is most natural for adverbs to sit immediately after the verb on. You could put it at the very beginning of the sentence (Vihdoin hänellä on...) if you wanted to heavily emphasize the word "Finally", but the current placement is the most neutral and common word order.
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