Learn Hardcore Finnish: Hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat nopeasti ilman shampoota. - Her/His hair dries quickly without shampoo.

In standard written Finnish, it’s very common (and often preferred) to mark a 3rd‑person possessor twice: with a genitive possessor (Hänen) and a possessive suffix (-nsa/-nsä) on the noun: Hänen hiuksensa.

Using only the suffix (hiuksensa) is possible when the possessor is clear from context, but on its own it can feel elliptical.
Using only the genitive (Hänen hiukset) is widespread in colloquial speech, but it’s non‑standard in formal Finnish.
So the safest, clearest standard form is the double marking: Hänen hiuksensa.

Does Hänen mean “his” or “her”? How do you tell the gender?

Finnish has no grammatical gender. Hän/Hänen covers both “he/him/his” and “she/her/her.” Context tells you which one is meant.

Why is hiukset (hair) treated as plural in Finnish?

Hair on someone’s head is typically referred to in the plural in Finnish: hiukset “hairs.”

For a single strand, hius.
Another common word is tukka, which treats “hair” more as a mass and is usually singular.
That’s why the subject here is plural and triggers a plural verb.

Why is the verb kuivuvat (not kuivuu)?

The subject hiukset is plural, so the verb agrees: 3rd person plural kuivuvat.
Note: in spoken Finnish, you’ll often hear a singular verb with plural subjects (e.g., hiukset kuivuu), but in standard language it should be kuivuvat.

Why does hiuksensa not end with -t like hiukset?

When a noun in the nominative plural takes a possessive suffix, the plural -t is dropped. The plural is indicated in the stem (often by an -i-), and number is also clear from the verb:

hiukset → with suffix → hiuksensa
Compare: talot → talonsa (“his/her houses”).
Here, the plural is confirmed by the plural verb kuivuvat.

Could I say Hänen hiustensa kuivuvat…?

No, not as the subject in this sentence. Hiustensa is genitive plural (“of his/her hair”), so it’s used in structures like:

Hänen hiustensa väri on tumma (“The color of his/her hair is dark”).
For a plural subject “his/her hair,” use nominative plural with the suffix: Hänen hiuksensa.

What’s the difference between kuivua, kuivata, and kuivattaa?

kuivua = “to dry” intransitively (no direct object): Hiukset kuivuvat.
kuivata = “to dry” transitively: Kuivaan hiukseni pyyhkeellä (“I dry my hair with a towel”).
kuivattaa = causative “to have/make (something) dried”: Kuivatan pyykit kuivausrummussa.

Why is it ilman shampoota? What case is shampoota?

Ilman (“without”) governs the partitive case. Shampoota is the partitive singular of shampoo. Other examples:

ilman rahaa (without money), ilman sokeria (without sugar), ilman minua (without me).

Is shampoota the only correct partitive? What about spelling like sampoo?

Both spellings of the lemma exist: shampoo and sampoo. Their partitives are:

shampoo → shampoota
sampoo → sampoota
Both are accepted; shampoo/shampoota is very common in contemporary usage.

Could I use the abessive case instead of ilman, e.g., shampootta?

Grammatically yes: shampootta means “without shampoo” (abessive case). However, abessive is quite formal/literary and rare in everyday speech. Ilman + partitive (ilman shampoota) is the natural, neutral choice.

Can I change the word order? For example, move ilman shampoota to the front?

Yes. Finnish allows flexible word order to adjust emphasis. All of these are grammatical:

Hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat nopeasti ilman shampoota. (neutral)
Ilman shampoota hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat nopeasti. (emphasizes “without shampoo”)
Nopeasti hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat ilman shampoota. (fronts the adverb for stylistic/emphatic effect)
Keep related elements together and avoid piling too many modifiers between subject and verb in formal writing.

Can I drop Hänen or the possessive suffix?

Dropping Hänen: Hiuksensa kuivuvat… is possible if the possessor is clear from context, but as a standalone sentence it can feel incomplete.
Dropping the suffix: Hänen hiukset kuivuvat… is very common in colloquial Finnish but is non‑standard in formal writing.
Safest standard choice: keep both → Hänen hiuksensa…

Could I say Hänen tukkansa kuivuu… instead of Hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat…?

Yes, but it changes nuance and agreement:

tukka treats hair as a (singular) mass → Hänen tukkansa kuivuu…
hiukset views hair as plural strands → Hänen hiuksensa kuivuvat…
Both are natural; choose the one that fits your style or the rhythm of the sentence.

What exactly is nopeasti? How would I say “more quickly”?

Nopeasti is the adverb formed from nopea (“fast, quick”) with -sti.
Comparatives:

Adjective: nopeampi (quicker).
Adverb: nopeammin (more quickly).
Superlatives: nopein / nopeimmin.

Does ilman always take the partitive? How about other adpositions?

Yes, ilman invariably takes the partitive: ilman vettä, ilman ystäviä, ilman minua.
Other adpositions vary: for example, kanssa (“with”) is a postposition and normally takes a genitive possessor with pronouns (standard: minun kanssani, hänen kanssaan), and a genitive noun (Pekan kanssa).