Questions & Answers about Hän osaa laulaa hyvin.
What does osaa mean in this sentence?
Osaa is the third-person singular, present-tense form of the verb osata, meaning “to know how to” or “to be able to” (in the sense of having learned a skill). Here osaa translates as “(she/he) knows how to” or simply “(she/he) can.”
Why is laulaa in its basic (infinitive) form rather than conjugated?
When one verb of ability (osata) is followed by another verb, that second verb appears in the first infinitive (dictionary) form. Thus osaa laulaa literally means “knows how to sing.” You never conjugate laulaa here; it stays as the infinitive.
Why is hyvin at the end of the sentence? Could it appear elsewhere?
Finnish word order is quite flexible. Hyvin (“well”) is an adverb modifying the verb phrase osaa laulaa. Placing it at the end is most neutral. If you moved it, e.g. Hän hyvin osaa laulaa, you’d shift the emphasis onto “well,” making the sentence less common but still understandable.
What case is hän, and why doesn’t Finnish distinguish gender here?
Hän is the nominative singular third-person pronoun (“he/she”). Finnish does not have gendered third-person pronouns, so hän covers both “he” and “she.”
Can you omit hän since Finnish verbs show person?