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Questions & Answers about Luonto auttaa minua rentoutumaan.
What case is minua in, and why isn’t it minä?
Minua is the partitive singular of minä (I). Verbs like auttaa (to help) require their object in the partitive case when the action affects or involves someone. Thus you say auttaa minua (“helps me”) rather than auttaa minä.
What kind of infinitive is rentoutumaan, and why do we use this form?
Rentoutumaan is the third infinitive (–maan/–mään) in the illative case, derived from rentoutua (to relax). After verbs such as auttaa, kehottaa (urge), or pakottaa (force), Finnish uses this form to express “help/urge/force someone to do something.” So auttaa minua rentoutumaan literally means “helps me into relaxing.”
Could we use the basic infinitive rentoutua instead of rentoutumaan?
No. With auttaa plus another verb, Finnish grammar requires the third infinitive illative (–maan/–mään). The basic infinitive rentoutua doesn’t fit this “help to do X” pattern.
Why isn’t there an että (“that”) between auttaa and rentoutumaan?
When a verb (like auttaa) directly governs another verb in its infinitive, you do not use että. Conjunction että only links to a finite clause (one with a conjugated verb), not an infinitive.
Can the pronoun minua be omitted?
Yes. Finnish often drops personal pronouns when the meaning is clear. You can say Luonto auttaa rentoutumaan (“Nature helps (one) to relax”).
Is the word order fixed, or could I say Minua luonto auttaa rentoutumaan?
Finnish word order is flexible. You can rearrange elements for emphasis:
- Minua luonto auttaa rentoutumaan (It’s nature that helps me relax).
- Rentoutumaan luonto auttaa minua (As for relaxing, nature helps me).
The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object: Luonto auttaa minua rentoutumaan.
What’s the difference between rentoutua and rentouttaa?
Rentoutua is intransitive: “to relax oneself.”
Rentouttaa is transitive: “to make or cause (someone or something) to relax.”
In our sentence, I am doing the relaxing, so we use rentoutua in its third infinitive form (rentoutumaan).