Learn Hardcore Finnish: Minä tarvitsen enemmän aikaa.

In Finnish, aikaa is in the partitive because when you need "more time," you’re talking about an uncountable quantity. Partitive indicates an ongoing or incomplete amount. So enemmän aikaa translates to "more of time," expressing that you need some indefinite quantity of it.

Do I really need to say Minä if tarvitsen already shows who needs something?

In Finnish, you can often omit personal pronouns because the verb endings convey the subject clearly. However, using Minä can add clarity or emphasis on the fact that I specifically need more time. In everyday speech, both Minä tarvitsen enemmän aikaa and Tarvitsen enemmän aikaa are correct.

What’s the difference between enemmän and lisää here?

Both enemmän and lisää can mean “more,” but their usage can differ slightly. Enemmän emphasizes a greater quantity of something in a comparative sense, while lisää can often mean “an additional amount.” In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but enemmän aikaa is a more direct way to say “a larger amount of time,” whereas lisää aikaa can be understood as “some more time in addition to what you already have.”

How is the verb tarvita conjugated in the present tense?