Minä opiskelen suomea ensi viikolla.

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Breakdown of Minä opiskelen suomea ensi viikolla.

• suomi: Finnish
• opiskella: to study
• ensi viikko: next week

Questions & Answers about Minä opiskelen suomea ensi viikolla.

Why is minä included? Can I leave it out?

Yes, you usually can leave out minä.

Finnish verbs show the person clearly, so opiskelen already means I study / I am studying. Because of that, the sentence can simply be:

Opiskelen suomea ensi viikolla.

Including minä is still correct, but it often adds a little more emphasis, contrast, or clarity. For example, Minä opiskelen suomea, mutta hän opiskelee ruotsia = I study Finnish, but he/she studies Swedish.

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Why does opiskella become opiskelen?

Opiskella is the dictionary form of the verb, meaning to study.

In the sentence, the verb is conjugated for first person singular (I). In the present tense, that gives:

• (minä) opiskelen = I study / I am studying
• (sinä) opiskelet = you study
• hän opiskelee = he/she studies

So opiskelen is just the I-form of opiskella.

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Does opiskelen mean I study or I am studying?