Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.

The patient needs good care.

Breakdown of Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.

• tarvita: to need
• hyvä: good
• potilas: the patient
• hoito: the care

Questions & Answers about Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.

Why is it hyvää hoitoa and not hyvä hoito?

In hyvää hoitoa, both hyvää and hoitoa are in the partitive singular.

• The base forms are hyvä (good) and hoito (care, treatment).
• In this sentence, tarvita (“to need”) usually takes its object in the partitive when the thing needed is:
  • abstract or uncountable (like care, help, money), or
  • not a clearly delimited, “whole” thing.

So:

• Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.
  = The patient needs (some) good care.
  → open-ended, unbounded amount/period of care.

Compare:

• Potilas tarvitsee tämän hoidon.
  = The patient needs this treatment (a specific, complete course).
  Here hoidon is a total object (genitive singular), because it’s a specific, “whole” treatment.

What case is hoitoa, and what does that case mean?

Hoitoa is in the partitive singular.

Functions here:

• It marks the object of the verb tarvitsee.
• Partitive object often signals:
  • incomplete or ongoing action,
  • uncountable mass,
  • or “some amount of” something, not a clearly bounded whole.

Semantically, hoitoa here is closer to “(some) care / (some) treatment” rather than “a single, complete treatment event.”

Why is hyvää also in the partitive? Why not just the noun?

In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in:

• case (nominative, partitive, etc.),
• number (singular/plural).

Since hoitoa is partitive singular, hyvä must also become partitive singular → hyvää.

• Nominative: hyvä hoito (good care / a good treatment)
• Partitive: hyvää hoitoa (some good care)

The case marking is primarily required by the noun’s role (object in partitive); the adjective just follows the noun.

What is the role and case of Potilas in this sentence?

Potilas is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative singular.

• Nominative is usually the base form (the form you find in the dictionary).
• As the subject, it answers “who needs…?” → The patient needs good care.

What verb is tarvitsee, and how is it conjugated here?

The infinitive (dictionary) form is tarvita = to need.

Tarvitsee is:

• person: 3rd person singular
• tense: present
• mood: indicative

Pattern:

• minä tarvitsen – I need
• sinä tarvitset – you need
• hän tarvitsee – he/she needs
• potilas tarvitsee – the patient needs

So Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa = The patient needs good care.

Why doesn’t Finnish use “a” or “the” like English does (“the patient,” “good care”)?

Finnish has no articles (a, an, the). Definiteness and indefiniteness are expressed differently:

• Through context:
  • Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa. → Depending on context: A patient needs good care or The patient needs good care.
• Through word order, demonstratives, etc.:
  • Tämä potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.
    = This patient needs good care.
  • Se potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.
    = That/The (aforementioned) patient needs good care.

You must infer “a/the” from context when translating.

Can I say Potilas tarvitsee hoitoa without hyvää? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

• Potilas tarvitsee hoitoa.
  = The/A patient needs care.

Differences:

• Potilas tarvitsee hoitoa.
  → focuses on the need for care, without evaluating its quality.
• Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.
  → adds emphasis that the care should be good, adequate, of high quality.

Grammatically, both hoitoa and hyvää hoitoa are partitive objects.

Could the word order be different, like Hyvää hoitoa potilas tarvitsee?

Yes. Finnish word order is relatively flexible; case endings mark the grammatical roles.

• Potilas tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa.
  → neutral, standard order (Subject–Verb–Object).
• Hyvää hoitoa potilas tarvitsee.
  → puts emphasis on hyvää hoitoa (“good care is what the patient needs”).

Both are correct; the difference is mainly in information focus, not in basic meaning.

Is there a situation where I would say hyvän hoidon instead of hyvää hoitoa?

Yes, when the object is a total object (genitive) rather than partitive. For example:

• Potilas saa hyvän hoidon.
  = The patient will receive good treatment (seen as one complete treatment/course).

Here:

• saa (“will get/receive”) plus a bounded, complete treatment → hyvän hoidon (genitive singular).
• Your original sentence with tarvitsee emphasizes an ongoing / unbounded need, which suits the partitive: hyvää hoitoa.

So:

• tarvitsee hyvää hoitoa – needs (some) good care (unbounded).
• saa hyvän hoidon – receives a good treatment (complete).

How is tarvitsee pronounced, especially the ts and the double ee?

Pronunciation tips:

• tarvitsee ≈ tar-vit-se-e
  • r: tapped/flapped, like Spanish r in pero.
  • ts: like ts in English “cats.”
  • ee: a long e, held about twice as long as a short e, a bit like “ay” in “say” but without the glide to y.

Stress is on the first syllable: TAR-vit-see.

Is potilas related in meaning or form to the English word “patient”?

Yes, potilas is the usual Finnish noun meaning “patient (in a medical context)” and is roughly equivalent to English patient.

They are not straightforward cognates, but both come from Latin-derived medical vocabulary that has spread into many European languages. For learners, just remember:

• potilas = a medical patient (person receiving care).

Does the object of tarvita always have to be in the partitive?

Often, but not always. Tarvita strongly tends to take a partitive object, especially with abstract or uncountable nouns:

• Tarvitsen apua. – I need help. (partitive)
• Tarvitsemme rahaa. – We need money. (partitive)

However, with clear, countable, and delimited objects, a total object (genitive) can appear, especially when the need is for something specific:

• Tarvitsen tämän tiedoston. – I need this file.
• Tarvitsetko tämän kirjan? – Do you need this book?

So:

• Unspecified, abstract, or ongoing: partitive (like hyvää hoitoa).
• Specific, countable, “whole”: often genitive.