Learn Hardcore Finnish: Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa.

jotkut opiskelijat (nominative plural) = some students (more definite, we’re kind of “pointing” at a specific subgroup)
joitakin opiskelijoita (partitive plural) = some students (more vague/indefinite, emphasizing “an unspecified number of”)

In everyday speech, jotkut opiskelijat is often used when we have a particular subset in mind, even if we don’t name them.
Joitakin opiskelijoita can sound a bit more like “a number of students” without that same “this particular group” feeling.

Why is opiskelijat and opiskelevat both plural? Could it be singular?

Finnish verbs agree with their subjects in both person and number.

opiskelijat = students (3rd person plural, nominative)
opiskelevat = study / are studying (3rd person plural form of opiskella)

So:

Opiskelija opiskelee suomea verkossa. = A/one student studies Finnish online.
Opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa. = Students study Finnish online.
Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa. = Some students study Finnish online.

You cannot mix plural subject with singular verb:

✗ Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelee… (this is common in colloquial speech but is incorrect in standard written Finnish).

What is the base form of opiskelevat, and how is it conjugated?

The base (dictionary) form is opiskella (to study).

Conjugation in the present tense (standard, spoken forms in brackets):

minä opiskelen (mä opiskelen)
sinä opiskelet (sä opiskelet)
hän opiskelee
me opiskelemme (me opiskellaan in colloquial)
te opiskelette
he opiskelevat (ne opiskelee in colloquial)

In the sentence, opiskelevat is 3rd person plural (they):
he opiskelevat → they study / they are studying.

Finnish doesn’t distinguish “study” vs. “are studying” in form; opiskelevat can mean both, depending on context.

Why is it suomea and not suomi?

Suomi is the nominative form (the name of the language / the country).
In this sentence, suomea is the partitive form.

Languages typically appear in partitive when they are objects of verbs like study, learn, speak, know because they are treated as:

uncountable
not “completed” as a whole

Compare:

Opiskelen suomea. = I study Finnish. (ongoing, partial)
Puhun suomea. = I speak Finnish.
Ymmärrän vähän suomea. = I understand a little Finnish.

Using plain suomi here (opiskelevat suomi) would be ungrammatical. You need the case ending: suomea (or a longer phrase like suomen kieltä).

Can I say suomen kieltä instead of suomea?

Yes, you can:

Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa.
Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomen kieltä verkossa.

Both are correct and mean Some students study the Finnish language online.

Nuances:

suomea is shorter and very common in everyday language.
suomen kieltä is a bit more explicit and can sound slightly more formal or textbook-like, literally the Finnish language.

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

Verkossa is the inessive singular of verkko (net, network).

Base form: verkko
Inessive (in/inside): verkossa = in the net / on the net

Idiomatically, verkossa means online, i.e. on the internet.

Other common options:

netissä (from netti, “the net”) – also “online”
internetissä – “on the internet” (more formal/technical)

So:

opiskelevat suomea verkossa = study Finnish online.

Could the word order be different, like Suomea jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat verkossa?

Yes. Finnish has relatively flexible word order. The basic neutral order here is:

Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa.
Subject – Verb – Object – Adverbial

You can move elements for emphasis or style:

Suomea jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat verkossa.
Emphasis on suomea (It’s Finnish that some students study online).
Verkossa jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea.
Emphasis on verkossa (It’s online that some students study Finnish).

All of these can be grammatically correct; the differences are mostly about what you want to highlight. For a learner, the original S–V–O–(Adverbial) order is the safest default.

Why don’t we need a word like “are” in Finnish, as in “Some students are studying Finnish online”?

In Finnish, the present tense verb form already includes the information that English expresses with both the auxiliary and the main verb.

English: are studying = auxiliary are
- main verb studying
Finnish: opiskelevat alone covers are studying / study

So:

Jotkut opiskelijat opiskelevat suomea verkossa.
can translate as either
- Some students study Finnish online
  or
- Some students are studying Finnish online,

depending on context. Finnish present tense doesn’t distinguish simple vs. continuous.

How are the words in this sentence pronounced, especially the double consonants?

Very roughly (in simple English-style transcription):

Jotkut ≈ yot-koot
- j like English y in yes
- o like o in got (British), short
- tk is pronounced as a cluster: t then k.
opiskelijat ≈ oh-pee-skeh-lee-yat
- Stress is always on the first syllable: O-pis-ke-li-jat.
- j is like y in yes.
opiskelevat ≈ oh-pee-skeh-leh-vat
- Same stem opiskele-
  - -vat.
suomea ≈ soo-oh-meh-ah (smoothly: suo-me-a)
- uo is a diphthong, one blended sound.
verkossa ≈ ver-kos-sa
- Double ss is held slightly longer than a single s.
- Stress: VER-kos-sa.

In Finnish, every written letter is pronounced, and double consonants (like ss) are genuinely longer than single ones, which can change meaning.