Learn Hardcore Finnish: Selkeä ohje helpottaa tehtävää. - A clear instruction makes the task easier.

Many Finnish transitive verbs take a partitive object when the effect is partial, ongoing, or not viewed as a completed, bounded event.
Helpottaa typically takes a partitive object: you’re “easing” something to some degree, not completing it once and for all.
Hence, helpottaa tehtävää is the idiomatic pattern.

Could I use a total object (tehtävän) instead of tehtävää?

In theory, a total object (genitive/accusative) appears with a completed, bounded action. With helpottaa, that reading is unusual because “making easier” is inherently a matter of degree.
So helpottaa tehtävän would sound odd to most Finns in neutral contexts. Stick with helpottaa + partitive.

Does the adjective selkeä agree with ohje in case and number?

Yes. Adjectives agree with their nouns.
Nominative singular: selkeä ohje.
Plural nominative: selkeät ohjeet.
If the noun were in partitive, the adjective would also be: selkeää ohjetta (not used here because ohje is the subject).

What’s the nuance difference between selkeä and selvä?

Selkeä: clear in structure, well-organized, easy to understand or follow. Great for instructions, layout, writing.
Selvä: clear/obvious/evident; also used when something is understood or agreed (like “All clear!”).
Here, selkeä ohje is more natural than selvä ohje.

What’s the difference between ohje, ohjeet, and ohjeistus?

ohje: an instruction, a guideline (singular).
ohjeet: instructions (plural), commonly used for a set of steps.
ohjeistus: guidance/instructional framework or the act of instructing; often more formal or organizational.
Parallel sentences:
- Selkeät ohjeet helpottavat tehtävää. (Clear instructions make the task easier.)
- Selkeä ohjeistus helpottaa tehtävää. (Clear guidance makes the task easier.)

How is helpottaa conjugated here, and what would it be with a plural subject?

Here it’s hän/se helpottaa (3rd person singular).
With a plural subject: selkeät ohjeet helpottavat (they make easier).
Present tense paradigm (briefly): minä helpotan, sinä helpotat, hän/se helpottaa, me helpotamme, te helpotatte, he ne helpottavat.

Can helpottaa be used without an object?

Yes, intransitively, often with things like symptoms or situations:
- Päänsärky helpottaa. (The headache is easing.)
There’s also the intransitive verb helpottua with a similar meaning: Tilanne helpottui. (The situation eased.)

Can I rephrase this with tehdä “to make,” like in English?

Yes: Selkeä ohje tekee tehtävästä helpomman.
- Pattern: tehdä + N-elative/ablative/-sta (from) + predicate adjective in the appropriate case/degree.
- This highlights the result state: the task becomes easier.
Both versions are natural; helpottaa is slightly more compact.

Is the word order fixed, or can I say Tehtävää helpottaa selkeä ohje?

Both are grammatical.
Selkeä ohje helpottaa tehtävää. is neutral, subject-first.
Tehtävää helpottaa selkeä ohje. foregrounds the task (topic/focus shift), e.g., when the task is already under discussion.

How do articles work here? Is it “a clear instruction” or “the clear instruction”?

Finnish has no articles. Selkeä ohje can be “a clear instruction” or “the clear instruction,” depending on context.
English articles are added in translation for naturalness.

Why does tehtävää end with -ä, not -a?

Vowel harmony: tehtävä contains front vowels (ä), so the partitive singular ending is -ä → tehtävää.
If the word had only back vowels (a, o, u), you’d get -a.

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

selkeä: pronounce the eä as two distinct vowels [se-le-ke-a]; the stress is on the first syllable.
ohje: [oh-yeh]; Finnish j is like English y in “yes.”
helpottaa: double consonant tt is long; aa is a long vowel: [hel-pot-taa].
tehtävää: long ää at the end: [teh-tä-vää]. Every word is stressed on the first syllable.

What does tehtävä literally mean and where does it come from?

It’s derived from the verb tehdä (to do/make).
tehtävä literally: “something to be done,” hence “task,” “exercise,” or “assignment,” depending on context.

Are there common collocations with helpottaa that use the partitive?

Yes, very common:
- Lääke helpottaa kipua. (The medication relieves pain.)
- Kartta helpottaa suunnistusta. (A map makes orienteering easier.)
- Selkeä rakenne helpottaa lukemista. (A clear structure makes reading easier.)
Notice the partitive objects: kipua, suunnistusta, lukemista.