Breakdown of Tarvitsen selityksen tähän ongelmaan.
minä
I
tämä
this
tarvita
to need
ongelma
the problem
selitys
the explanation
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Questions & Answers about Tarvitsen selityksen tähän ongelmaan.
What is the infinitive form and meaning of tarvitsen?
Tarvitsen is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb tarvita, which means “to need”. So tarvitsen = “I need.”
Why is selityksen used here instead of selitystä, and what case is it?
Selityksen is the genitive singular form of selitys. In Finnish, a definite or complete object of a transitive verb often takes the genitive/accusative form (here identical). If you wanted an indefinite or partial sense (“I need some explanation”), you’d use the partitive: selitystä.
What case is ongelmaan, and why is it used?
Ongelmaan is the illative singular of ongelma (“problem”). The illative (marked by -an here) expresses movement “into” or direction “to” something. When you say selitys ongelmaan you mean “an explanation for/to this problem.”
Why is tähän placed before ongelmaan? Could you drop it?
Tähän is the illative of tämä (“this”), matching ongelmaan in case. Together they form “to this problem.” You can drop tähän and say selityksen ongelmaan, but including it pinpoints this specific problem, not just any problem.
How do you decline tämä ongelma in the illative, and what would the plural look like?
Singular illative: tähän ongelmaan
Plural illative: näihin ongelmiin
(Here näihin is the plural illative of nämä.)
Can you change the word order, for example Tähän ongelmaan tarvitsen selityksen?
Yes. Finnish has flexible word order for emphasis.
- Tarvitsen selityksen tähän ongelmaan. (neutral)
- Tähän ongelmaan tarvitsen selityksen. (emphasizes this problem)
Both are grammatically correct.
What’s the difference between selitys and selittäminen?
Selitys is a noun meaning “an explanation” (the result).
Selittäminen is a verbal noun (gerund) meaning “the act of explaining.”
Use selitys when you want the explanation itself; use selittäminen when you talk about the process.
Are there synonyms for selitys I could use?
Yes, depending on nuance:
- selvitys (a report or clarification)
- perustelu (a justification or reasoning)
- vastaus (an answer/reply, more general)
How would you say “I needed an explanation for this problem” in the past tense?
Use the imperfect of tarvita:
Tarvitsin selityksen tähän ongelmaan.