Toivottavasti onnistun tällä kertaa.

Hopefully I will succeed this time.

Breakdown of Toivottavasti onnistun tällä kertaa.

• minä: I
• tällä kertaa: this time
• onnistua: to succeed
• toivottavasti: hopefully

Questions & Answers about Toivottavasti onnistun tällä kertaa.

What exactly does the word in bold, Toivottavasti, do in this sentence? Is it the same as “I hope”?

Toivottavasti is a sentence adverb meaning “hopefully.” It modifies the whole clause and does not take a subject or an että-clause. It’s close in meaning to English “I hope,” but structurally different.

• More explicit variant with a verb: Toivon, että onnistun tällä kertaa. (“I hope that I succeed this time.”)
• Tone: Toivottavasti is neutral and common in both speech and writing.

Why is there no minä (“I”)? Shouldn’t it be Minä onnistun?

Finnish verbs carry person endings, so onnistun already means “I succeed.” The subject pronoun minä is optional and used for emphasis or contrast.

• Neutral: Onnistun tällä kertaa.
• Emphatic: Minä onnistun tällä kertaa (implies “I, as opposed to someone else”).

The verb is present tense (onnistun). Does this refer to the future?

Yes. Finnish often uses the present for near-future meaning when context makes the time clear.

• Toivottavasti onnistun tällä kertaa. ≈ “Hopefully I’ll succeed this time.”
• You can also say intention with aikoa: Aion yrittää uudelleen, but you don’t need a special future tense.

How is onnistun formed, and what are a few key forms I should know?

Base verb: onnistua (“to succeed”).

• Present 1sg: onnistun
• Past 1sg: onnistuin
• Perfect 1sg: olen onnistunut
• Negative present 1sg: en onnistu
• Question: Onnistunko?

Why is it tällä kertaa and not tällä kerralla? Are both correct?

Both are correct.

• Tällä kertaa is the most common fixed expression for “this time.”
• Tällä kerralla is also fine and perhaps a bit more literal (“on this occasion”). Many speakers feel only a slight nuance difference, if any.
• Note: With other modifiers you’ll often see -kerralla, e.g. viime kerralla (“last time”), seuraavalla kerralla (“next time”).

What cases are used in tällä kertaa, and why does it look “split”?

• tällä = adessive singular of tämä (“this”) → “on this”
• kertaa = partitive singular of kerta (“time, occasion”) The combination tällä kertaa is a conventional, semi-fixed expression where the case marking is “split” across the words. A fully case-matched alternative is tällä kerralla (both parts adessive).

Can I move parts around? For example, put tällä kertaa or toivottavasti elsewhere?

Yes. Word order is flexible and affects emphasis:

• Toivottavasti onnistun tällä kertaa. (neutral)
• Toivottavasti tällä kertaa onnistun. (slight emphasis on “this time”)
• Tällä kertaa toivottavasti onnistun. (stronger topic: “this time”) You can even put toivottavasti at the end in speech: Onnistun tällä kertaa, toivottavasti. (more colloquial/discourse-like)

Is tällä kertaa the same as nyt (“now”)? Could I just say onnistun nyt?

They’re different:

• tällä kertaa = “this time/this attempt,” implying repeated occasions or iterations.
• nyt = “now (at this moment).” If you’re contrasting with previous attempts, tällä kertaa is the idiomatic choice; nyt focuses on the current moment rather than the iteration.

How do I say what I succeed at? Which structures does onnistua take?

Common patterns:

• onnistua tekemään X (3rd infinitive illative): Onnistun tekemään sen. (“I manage to do it.”)
• onnistua jossakin (inessive): Onnistun kokeessa. (“I succeed in the exam.”)
• onnistua + translative result is rare; prefer the two patterns above.

How do I express the negative idea “Hopefully I won’t fail this time”?

Use the verb epäonnistua (“to fail”) or negate onnistua depending on the nuance:

• Avoid failure: Toivottavasti en epäonnistu tällä kertaa.
• Not succeed (slightly different feel): Toivottavasti en onnistu (usually not what you want here). In this context, en epäonnistu is the natural choice.

Could I use the conditional or potential mood here (e.g., onnistuisin, onnistunen)?

• Conditional (onnistuisin) expresses hypotheticals/wishes and typically needs context, e.g. Jospa onnistuisin tällä kertaa (“If only I would succeed this time”). Using it after Toivottavasti is uncommon unless there’s an implied condition.
• Potential (onnistunen) means “I will probably succeed.” It’s formal/rare in speech and clashes with toivottavasti (two probability markers). Prefer the plain present.

Do I need a comma after Toivottavasti?

No. Toivottavasti is a single sentence adverb; no comma is required.

• You do use a comma before että in: Toivon, että onnistun tällä kertaa.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• Primary stress on the first syllable of each word: TOI-vot-ta-vasti ON-nis-tun TÄL-lä KER-taa.
• Double consonants (tt, ll) are long; hold them clearly.
• aa in kertaa is a long vowel; don’t clip it.