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Questions & Answers about Minä odotan oikeaa vastausta.
Why is Minä used here? Do I have to include it every time?
The pronoun Minä means I. In Finnish subject pronouns are optional because the verb ending (the -n in odotan) already shows first person singular. You can say Odotan oikeaa vastausta without Minä. You include Minä mainly for emphasis or clarity.
What does odotan mean and how is it formed?
Odotan is the first person singular present tense form of the verb odottaa (to wait for or to expect). Take the stem odota- then add the personal ending -n for I. So odottaa → odotan gives I am waiting (for).
Why is vastausta not in the basic form vastaus? What case is this?
Vastausta is the partitive singular form of vastaus (answer). In Finnish the object of certain verbs, including odottaa, must be in the partitive case. It marks an incomplete or ongoing action, like waiting for something.
Why is oikeaa used instead of oikea?
Adjectives must match the noun they modify in both case and number. Since vastausta is partitive singular, oikea also inflects to the partitive singular form oikeaa.
Could you use the nominative forms oikea vastaus instead here?
No, with odottaa you need the partitive case for the object. Using oikea vastaus (nominative) would be ungrammatical after this verb.
What nuance is there in odottaa meaning to wait versus to expect?
Odottaa can mean both to wait for something physically and to expect something mentally. In this sentence it can be understood as either I am waiting for the correct answer or I am expecting the correct answer, depending on context.
Is the word order in Minä odotan oikeaa vastausta fixed?
Finnish has relatively free word order because of its case marking. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object as in Minä odotan oikeaa vastausta, but you could say Oikeaa vastausta minä odotan for emphasis on what you are waiting for.