Moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea verkossa.

Many students study Finnish online.

Breakdown of Moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea verkossa.

• suomi: Finnish
• opiskella: to study
• opiskelija: the student
• verkossa: online
• moni: many

Questions & Answers about Moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea verkossa.

Why is it Moni opiskelija opiskelee and not Moni opiskelija opiskelevat?

In Finnish, the verb agrees with the grammatical number of the noun phrase, not with its meaning.

• Moni opiskelija is grammatically singular (literally: many a student), even though it refers to more than one person.
• Therefore the verb is in 3rd person singular: opiskelee.

If you want a clearly plural subject with a plural verb, you would say:

• Monet opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa.
  (Many students study Finnish online.)

What is the difference between Moni opiskelija and Monet opiskelijat?

Both can translate to many students, but they differ in form and nuance:

• Moni opiskelija
  
  • Grammatically singular.
  • Slightly more general or neutral.
  • Very common in written language.
• Monet opiskelijat
  
  • Clear plural (monet
    • opiskelijat).
  • Can feel a bit more emphatic: those many students.

Often they can be used interchangeably, but they require different verb forms:

• Moni opiskelija opiskelee… (singular verb)
• Monet opiskelijat opiskelevat… (plural verb)

Why is opiskelija in the singular if we are talking about many students?

Because moni behaves like a singular quantifier:

• moni opiskelija = literally many a student, i.e. “a lot of individual students, each one …”

So the noun opiskelija stays in the nominative singular to match moni, which is also singular in form.

If you want everything in the plural, you use:

• monet opiskelijat (both words plural)

What person and tense is opiskelee, and what is its basic form?

• opiskelee is:
  • 3rd person singular
  • present tense (also used for general, habitual actions)
• The basic (dictionary) form is:
  • opiskella (to study)

Some forms:

• minä opiskelen – I study
• sinä opiskelet – you study (singular)
• hän opiskelee – he/she studies
• he opiskelevat – they study

Why is it suomea and not suomi?

Suomea is the partitive singular of suomi.

Finnish very often uses the partitive for:

1. Objects of activities that are ongoing, incomplete, or not about a specific measurable amount.
2. Languages as study subjects.

Studying a language is seen as an open‑ended activity, not something “completed,” so the object (the thing being studied) goes into the partitive:

• opiskella suomea – to study Finnish
• opiskella englantia – to study English
• opiskella ruotsia – to study Swedish

Using suomi in the nominative here (opiskelee suomi) would be ungrammatical.

What is the grammatical case of suomea, and how is it formed from suomi?

• Case: partitive singular
• Base word: suomi
• Stem: suome- (the i changes to e in many forms)
• Ending: -a

So:

• suomi → suomea (partitive singular)
• Similarly: Suomi (Finland) → Suomea (partitive: “Finland” as an object)

Why does Finnish use the partitive with languages after opiskella?

There are two main reasons:

1. Aspect (ongoing/incomplete action):
   Studying a language is open‑ended; you never fully “finish” it. Finnish often uses the partitive object when an action is ongoing or not completed.

2. Lexical pattern:
   With verbs like opiskella (to study), oppia (to learn), opettaa (to teach), languages are conventionally in the partitive. This has become a fixed pattern:

   • opiskelen suomea – I study Finnish
   • opin suomea – I’m learning Finnish
   • opetan suomea – I teach Finnish

What case is verkossa, and what does it literally mean?

• verkossa is the inessive singular of verkko.
• Inessive (ending -ssa / -ssä) usually means in / inside.

Literally:

• verkossa = in the net / in the network

In modern usage, this has the idiomatic meaning online / on the internet. So opiskelee suomea verkossa = studies Finnish online.

Can verkossa mean other things besides “online”?

Yes. Verkko means net, network, or mesh. So verkossa can mean:

• in a (physical) net (e.g. a fishing net or a volleyball net)
• in a network (e.g. electrical network)
• on the internet / online (modern idiomatic meaning)

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, because it’s about studying, verkossa is naturally understood as online.

Could I change the word order, for example: Verkossa moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea?

Yes. Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and different orders can emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Some possible variants:

• Moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea verkossa.
  Neutral: Many students study Finnish online.

• Moni opiskelija verkossa opiskelee suomea.
  Slight emphasis on verkossa (online).

• Verkossa moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea.
  Emphasizes the setting: Online, many students study Finnish.

All are grammatical; the basic meaning stays the same.

Is moni an adjective or a pronoun, and how does it behave?

Moni can be treated as a quantifier that behaves similarly to an adjective:

• It stands before a noun: moni opiskelija
• It agrees in case (and number, when pluralized) with the noun:
  
  • moni opiskelija – many a student (nominative singular)
  • monen opiskelijan – of many students (genitive)
  • monet opiskelijat – many students (nominative plural)

However, unlike typical adjectives, moni in its basic form is grammatically singular but refers to more than one entity. That’s why it can be confusing.

If I want to say many students study Finnish in Finland, how would I adapt this sentence?

You replace verkossa with Suomessa (in Finland):

• Moni opiskelija opiskelee suomea Suomessa.

Here:

• Suomi (Finland) → Suomessa (inessive singular: in Finland)

How would I say A lot of students study Finnish online using paljon instead of moni?

With paljon, you usually use a plural noun:

• Paljon opiskelijoita opiskelee suomea verkossa.

Notes:

• paljon – a lot, much
• opiskelijoita – partitive plural of opiskelija
• The verb is still 3rd person singular (opiskelee) because paljon opiskelijoita behaves like a quantitatively measured group, and Finnish often uses singular verb agreement with this kind of subject.