Tarvitsen kypärää.

I need a helmet.

Breakdown of Tarvitsen kypärää.

• tarvita: to need
• kypärä: the helmet

Questions & Answers about Tarvitsen kypärää.

In Tarvitsen kypärää, why is kypärää in the partitive case instead of the nominative?

Finnish uses the partitive case for objects of verbs like tarvita when talking about needing or wanting something in an indefinite or unquantified sense. Here are the reasons:

• Indefinite quantity: You’re not specifying “one exact helmet,” just “some helmet.”
• Partitive usage with certain verbs: Verbs expressing need, want, or consumption often take a partitive object.

Could you say Tarvitsen kypärän with the nominative/accusative form?

Yes, but with a subtle difference:

• Tarvitsen kypärän implies you need that specific, complete helmet (like “I need that helmet”).
• Tarvitsen kypärää focuses on needing any helmet or just the concept of needing a helmet.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before kypärää? How do you know it means “a helmet”?

Finnish does not use articles. Context and case endings carry the same meanings:

• Partitive (kypärää) often implies “some” or “a” when introducing something new.
• Nominative (kypärä) can imply “the” or a specific helmet when the object has already been established.

How do you create the first person singular form tarvitsen from the verb tarvita?

To conjugate tarvita in the present tense for “I”:

1. Start with the infinitive stem: tarvit-
2. Add the personal ending -sen for 1st person singular.
3. Combine to get tarvitsen (“I need”).

What would the negative and question forms look like?

Negative:

• En tarvitse kypärää. (“I don’t need a helmet.”)
  Question:
• Tarvitsenko kypärää? (“Do I need a helmet?”)
  The -ko suffix on tarvitsen turns it into a yes/no question.

How would you say “We need a helmet” in Finnish?

Use the 1st person plural form:

• Tarvitsemme kypärää.
  tarvitsemme = “we need,” formed with the ending -mme on the stem tarvit-.

Are there stem changes or consonant gradation in tarvita?

No major consonant gradation here. tarvita keeps the same stem tarvit- in all its forms:

• Tarvitsen, tarvitset, tarvitsee, tarvitamme, etc.

Can tarvita ever take the genitive or other cases for its object?

Almost always you’ll use the partitive with tarvita for general need. You might see the accusative when talking about a very specific item you already have in mind:

• Tarvitsen sen kypärän. (“I need that (exact) helmet.”)