Minä säästän vettä.

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Breakdown of Minä säästän vettä.

• vesi: the water
• säästää: to save

Questions & Answers about Minä säästän vettä.

Why is vettä in the partitive case instead of, say, the nominative?

In Finnish, mass nouns like vettä (water) are typically expressed in the partitive when the action does not imply complete or total use. The verb säästän (I save) suggests saving some amount of water rather than all of it, so the partitive is used to convey this ongoing, non-totalized action.

What does the subject pronoun Minä mean, and is it always necessary to include it?

The pronoun Minä means I in English. Finnish verb conjugation already shows the subject through endings (here, säästän indicates "I save"), so including Minä is not grammatically required. However, it is often added for emphasis or clarity, especially in contexts where you want to stress the subject.

How is the verb säästän formed from the base verb säästää?

The base verb is säästää which means to save or to conserve. In säästän, the -n ending is added to mark the first-person singular form. This ending makes it clear that the speaker is referring to themselves (I save).

What is the literal translation of Minä säästän vettä?

The literal translation is I save water. Each word corresponds directly: Minä means I, säästän means save, and vettä means water (in partitive form to indicate an indefinite amount).

Is the word order in this sentence fixed, or can it be varied in Finnish?

Finnish allows for flexible word order due to its rich system of inflections. While Minä säästän vettä follows a subject-verb-object pattern, the subject Minä can be dropped (since the verb already indicates the subject), or the elements can be rearranged for emphasis without changing the overall meaning.