Learn Hardcore Finnish: Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta. - I would like to learn to enjoy grammar as well, not only vocabulary.

Haluan oppia... = I want to learn... (more direct, straightforward statement of desire)
Haluaisin oppia... = I would like to learn... (softer, more polite, often expressing a wish or hope)

In Finnish, the conditional (the -isi- form) is used:

to sound more polite or tentative:
- Haluaisin kahvia. – I’d like some coffee.
to express a wish that maybe isn’t fully realized yet:
- Haluaisin asua Suomessa. – I’d like to live in Finland.

So here, Haluaisin oppia... presents it as a somewhat ideal goal or wish, not just a blunt “I want”.

Why is it oppia nauttimaan and not just nauttia after oppia?

In Finnish, oppia (“to learn”) commonly takes another verb in the third infinitive illative, the -maan / -mään form:

oppia + -maan/-mään → “to learn to do (something as a skill or habit)”

Examples:

Opin uimaan. – I learned to swim.
Opin puhumaan suomea. – I learned to speak Finnish.
Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista. – I would like to learn to enjoy grammar.

You can use oppia + first infinitive (oppia nauttia), but:

oppia nauttimaan is much more idiomatic when talking about developing a lasting ability or habit (enjoying something in general, as a regular experience).
oppia nauttia can sound more like “come to experience enjoyment (at some point)”, a bit less about building a skill.

So oppia nauttimaan is the natural choice for “learn to enjoy (as a skill/attitude)”.

What exactly is the -maan form in nauttimaan?

Nauttimaan is the third infinitive illative of nauttia.

The pattern is:

verb stem + -ma/-mä (third infinitive base)
then add -an / -än (illative ending) → -maan / -mään

So:

nauttia (to enjoy)
stem: nautti-
third infinitive base: nauttima-
illative: nauttimaan

This -maan/-mään form is used after many verbs indicating:

starting or learning an activity:
- mennä nukkumaan – to go to sleep
- jäädä odottamaan – to remain waiting
- oppia nauttimaan – to learn to enjoy

With oppia, this form is the standard way to express “learn to (do something)”.

Why is it kieliopista and sanastosta? What case is this and why is it used?

Kieliopista and sanastosta are in the elative case (ending -sta / -stä).

kielioppi (grammar) → kieliopista (from / out of grammar)
sanasto (vocabulary) → sanastosta (from / out of vocabulary)

The key point:
The verb nauttia (“to enjoy”) requires the elative case for what is enjoyed.

So:

nauttia + elative
- Nautin musiikista. – I enjoy music.
- Nautin ruoasta. – I enjoy the food.
- Nautin kieliopista. – I enjoy grammar.
- Nautin sanastosta. – I enjoy vocabulary.

In the sentence:

nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta
both kieliopista and sanastosta are governed by nauttimaan / nauttia and therefore must be in the elative.

Why isn’t it kielioppia instead of kieliopista? Isn’t -a/-ä often used for objects?

You’re thinking of the partitive (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä, etc.), which is indeed common for objects. But here, the case is controlled by the verb nauttia, not by general object rules.

nauttia always uses the elative (-sta/-stä) for what you enjoy:
- nauttia kieliopista – enjoy grammar
- nauttia musiikista – enjoy music

By contrast, some other verbs do use the partitive:

rakastaa kielioppia – to love grammar (kielioppia = partitive)
pelkään kielioppia – I fear grammar.

So:

kielioppia → partitive (used with certain verbs like rakastaa)
kieliopista → elative (required by nauttia)

In this sentence, because the main verb is nauttia, kieliopista is the only correct choice.

What exactly does myös do here, and why is it placed before kieliopista?

Myös means “also / too / as well” and it marks addition or inclusion.

In nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta, myös signals:

“not only vocabulary, but also grammar.”

Placement matters for emphasis:

Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta.
– Focus: grammar is also something I want to enjoy, not just vocabulary.
Haluaisin myös oppia nauttimaan kieliopista, en vain sanastosta.
– Focus: Among other things I’d like to do, I would also like to learn to enjoy grammar (broader “also”).
Myös haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista...
– Less natural in everyday speech; sounds more literary, like “I too would like to...”.

In the given sentence, myös kieliopista is the most natural choice: it directly marks kieliopista as the additional item in contrast with sanastosta.

Why is it en vain sanastosta? What does en vain mean here?

En vain sanastosta literally means “not only from vocabulary” or more idiomatically “not only vocabulary”.

Structure:

vain = only, just, merely
en vain X = not only X

Common pattern:

en vain X, vaan myös Y
= not only X, but also Y

Your sentence is a variation of that pattern, with myös placed before kieliopista, and en vain just before sanastosta:

(nauttimaan) myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta
→ “to enjoy grammar too, not only vocabulary.”

So:

vain sanastosta = only (just) vocabulary
en vain sanastosta = not only vocabulary

The negative en belongs to the verb nauttia implicitly:
“I’d like to learn to enjoy also grammar, not only vocabulary.”

Should there be a vaan in the sentence, like “en vain sanastosta, vaan myös kieliopista”?

You can absolutely say:

Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista, en vain sanastosta, vaan myös kieliopista.

That’s the full, classic pattern:

en vain X, vaan myös Y
→ not only X, but also Y

Your original version:

... nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta.

is slightly more compact and stylistically fine. The contrast is still clear because:

myös kieliopista = also grammar
en vain sanastosta = not only vocabulary

If you want the most explicit and symmetrical structure, you could say:

Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista, en vain sanastosta, vaan myös kieliopista.
Or: Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan en vain sanastosta, vaan myös kieliopista.

But everyday Finnish often uses shorter or slightly asymmetric forms like in your sentence.

Could we change the word order to “Haluaisin myös oppia nauttimaan kieliopista, en vain sanastosta”? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Haluaisin myös oppia nauttimaan kieliopista, en vain sanastosta.

The meaning changes slightly in emphasis:

Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan myös kieliopista...
→ The “also” applies directly to kieliopista (grammar).
Emphasis: not only vocabulary, but grammar too.
Haluaisin myös oppia nauttimaan kieliopista...
→ The “also” applies to the entire action “learn to enjoy grammar”.
Emphasis: Among other things I’d like to do, I’d also like to learn to enjoy grammar.

In everyday use, both are plausible, but if your main contrast is specifically grammar vs vocabulary, the original myös kieliopista is the clearest.

Could we simply say “Haluaisin nauttia kieliopista” instead of “Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista”?

You can say:

Haluaisin nauttia kieliopista. – I would like to enjoy grammar.

However, it doesn’t express exactly the same thing.

Haluaisin nauttia kieliopista.
→ You wish that you enjoyed grammar now, or in general. It doesn’t explicitly mention learning or a process of change.
Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan kieliopista.
→ You don’t (fully) enjoy it yet, but you want to learn to; it emphasizes a learning process or a change in attitude/ability.

So, the original sentence more clearly describes a goal of learning to enjoy grammar, not just a wishful “I’d like to enjoy grammar”.

Is “oppia nauttimaan” the only correct form, or is “oppia nauttia” also possible?

Both are grammatically possible, but they’re not equally natural.

oppia nauttimaan (third infinitive illative)
- This is standard and idiomatic when talking about acquiring an ongoing skill, habit, or attitude.
- Very common: oppia lukemaan, oppia ajamaan, oppia uimaan, oppia nauttimaan.
oppia nauttia (first infinitive)
- Grammatically okay, and you might see it, but it sounds less natural in everyday speech in this meaning.
- Can feel more like “learn to have the experience of enjoyment” in some specific contexts, and is less about habit and more about a single instance.

For the meaning “learn to enjoy (grammar as something you generally enjoy)”, Finns overwhelmingly prefer oppia nauttimaan.

Why is there a comma before “en vain sanastosta”?

In Finnish, commas separate clauses and also certain contrasting or additional phrases, somewhat similar to English.

Here, “en vain sanastosta” is:

a short contrasting addition to the main idea
expressing “not only vocabulary” in contrast to “also grammar”.

The comma:

marks a pause and contrast, like English:
“...to enjoy grammar too, not only vocabulary.”

You could compare:

Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en vain sanastosta.
Haluaisin oppia nauttimaan myös kieliopista, en pelkästään sanastosta.

In both, the comma sets off a negative contrast phrase that comments on the main clause.