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Questions & Answers about Ihminen haluaa oppia suomea.
What is the function of suomea and why isn’t it suomi?
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?
haluta in the present tense:
- minä haluan
- sinä haluat
- hän haluaa
- me haluamme
- te haluatte
- he haluavat
Since ihminen is third-person singular, we use haluaa.
Can I use opiskella instead of oppia? What’s the difference?
Yes.
- oppia focuses on acquiring knowledge (the end result).
- opiskella focuses on the process of studying (the activity).
Both take the partitive object: oppia suomea vs. opiskella suomea.
Is Finnish word order fixed? Could I say Suomea ihminen haluaa oppia?
Finnish has fairly flexible word order for emphasis or stylistic reasons, but the neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object: Ihminen haluaa oppia suomea. Moving suomea to the front (as in Suomea ihminen haluaa oppia) highlights suomea but sounds more poetic or marked.
How would I express this idea in the past tense?
Use the past form halusi (“wanted”):
- Singular: Ihminen halusi oppia suomea (“A person wanted to learn Finnish.”)
- Plural: Ihmiset halusivat oppia suomea (“People wanted to learn Finnish.””)