Learn Finnish: Yritämme manipuloida hänen alitajuntaansa, sillä emme osaa taivutella häntä. - We try to manipulate his subconscious, for we cannot persuade him.

The verb manipuloida (to manipulate) requires a partitive object because manipulation is conceptually viewed as an ongoing, irresultative process. The partitive base form here is alitajuntaa, to which the possessive suffix -nsa is added.

Why do we need the -nsa suffix on alitajuntaansa if hänen is already there?

In standard written Finnish, the third-person genitive pronouns hänen and heidän strictly require the matching possessive suffix to be attached to the noun (here, -nsa). While colloquial spoken Finnish often drops the suffix, standard B2-level Finnish demands both.

Why does taivutella take the partitive object häntä?

Taivutella means to try to persuade or to coax. The suffix -ella makes it a frequentative verb, which naturally takes a partitive object because the action is ongoing and a successful result is not yet guaranteed. If the persuasion were a completed successful action, you would use the base verb taivuttaa with a total object (e.g., taivutimme hänet).

How could we express a similar idea using the lesson's target verb saada?