Learn Hardcore Finnish: Ihminen haluaa oppia suomea. - A person wants to learn Finnish.

suomea is the partitive singular of suomi. After verbs like oppia (“to learn”), Finnish uses the partitive case for objects that denote an incomplete or ongoing action. Saying suomi (nominative) would imply you’ve fully learned Finnish, which isn’t the intended meaning here.

Why is oppia in its basic (dictionary) form instead of being conjugated?

Verbs like haluta (“to want”) take another verb in the first infinitive (basic) form as their complement. That infinitive never carries personal endings. So when you say “want to learn,” you use oppia unchanged, regardless of the subject.

What role does ihminen play in the sentence, and why is it singular?

ihminen (“a human” or “a person”) is the subject in nominative singular. Here it expresses a generic statement—“A person wants to learn Finnish.” If you wanted to talk about people in general, you could use the plural ihmiset haluavat oppia suomea (“People want to learn Finnish”).

How is haluta conjugated, and why is it haluaa here?