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Questions & Answers about Rakastan perhettäni.
What does Rakastan literally mean?
It means I love. The verb rakastaa – to love – has the root rakasta-, and the ending –n signals 1st person singular present.
Why isn't there a word for I?
In Finnish, person and number are built into the verb ending, so you don’t need a separate pronoun.
What case is perhettäni in, and what does it show?
It’s in the partitive case with a 1st person singular possessive suffix (–ni). The partitive here indicates a non‐total or ongoing relationship (common with verbs of feeling).
Why is it perhettäni and not perheeni or perhe?
Perheeni would be nominative + possessive (my family as a subject), and perhe (nominative) or perheen (genitive) can’t serve as the object of rakastaa. With feeling verbs like rakastaa, the object must be partitive: perhettäni.
How do you form the partitive singular for perhe?
Nouns ending in –e form the partitive singular with –ttä
• perhe → perhettä
Then add the possessor suffix: perhettä + ni → perhettäni.
Can you use the partitive with all verbs?
No. Some verbs (like rakastaa, kaivata) always require a partitive object. For most transitive verbs, the partitive signals an incomplete or ongoing action; the accusative (or genitive) marks a complete action.
Is it correct to say Minä rakastan perhettäni?
Yes, adding minä (I) is grammatically correct for emphasis or clarity, but it’s usually omitted because the verb ending –n already indicates the subject.