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Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa.

Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa.
I need permission to use this device in the office.

Breakdown of Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa.

minä
I
tämä
this
tarvita
to need
-ssa
in
käyttää
to use
toimisto
the office
lupa
permission
laite
device
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Questions & Answers about Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa.

Why is it luvan and not lupa?

Because lupa is the dictionary form (nominative), but here it’s the object of the verb tarvita (tarvitsen = I need).
Finnish marks objects with case, and in this sentence the object is complete/definite (a permit/the permission as a whole), so it appears in the genitive/accusative-looking form: luvan.

I’ve seen tarvitsen apua (partitive). Why isn’t it tarvitsen lupaa here?

Both are possible in different situations, because object case depends on meaning/aspect:

  • Tarvitsen luvan = I need (the/a) permit as a whole (a single, complete permission).
  • Tarvitsen lupaa = I need permission in a more general/ongoing sense (often like I need some permission / I need permission (in general)).

With things like apua (help), partitive is very common because help is often “uncountable” and not seen as a single completed unit.

What is the grammar of luvan käyttää? Why is käyttää in that form?

käyttää is the 1st infinitive (the basic to use form).
Finnish often expresses “permission to do something” as:

  • lupa + infinitive (permission to do X)
    So luvan käyttää literally means permission to use.
Why is it tätä laitetta (partitive), not tämän laitteen?

Because käyttää typically takes a partitive object in Finnish. So:

  • käyttää tätä laitetta = to use this device (normal, ongoing activity)
  • tämän laitteen would be a different object choice and would usually push the meaning toward a completed/total handling of the object, which doesn’t fit “use” as naturally.

Also, the demonstrative and noun must match in case:

  • partitive tätä
    • laitetta
How do I know the partitive forms tätä and laitetta?
  • tämä (this) → partitive singular tätä
  • laite (device) → partitive singular laitetta

For laite → laitetta, Finnish adds -tA to the stem: laite- + -tta → laitetta (with vowel harmony: -a/-ä depends on the word’s vowels; laite takes -a).

What is toimistossa exactly? Why that ending?

toimistossa is the inessive case, meaning in something:

  • toimisto = office
  • toimistossa = in the office

The inessive ending is -ssa / -ssä (vowel harmony chooses -ssa here).

Could it be toimistoon instead?

Yes, but it changes the idea:

  • toimistossa = in the office (location)
  • toimistoon (illative) = into the office / to the office (movement/destination)

Since “using a device” happens at a location, toimistossa is the natural choice.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move things around?

Finnish word order is flexible, but changes emphasis. Neutral is:

  • Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa.

You could emphasize the location or the device, for example:

  • Tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa (neutral)
  • Toimistossa tarvitsen luvan käyttää tätä laitetta (emphasizes in the office)

The case endings keep the roles clear even if you move parts.

Why doesn’t Finnish use an article like a/the in this sentence?

Finnish has no articles. Definiteness is usually understood from context or expressed through other means (word choice, demonstratives like tämä, object case choices, etc.).
So luvan can correspond to a permit or the permit depending on context.

How would I make this more polite or less direct?

A common softening is the conditional:

  • Tarvitsisin luvan käyttää tätä laitetta toimistossa. = I would need permission to use this device in the office. (politer)

You can also add politeness phrases, but the conditional alone often does the job.

Is there any consonant gradation or stem change happening here (like lupa → luvan)?

Yes. lupa changes to luvan because the stem becomes luva- in inflected forms (this is a common alternation in Finnish noun inflection).
So:

  • nominative: lupa
  • genitive/accusative-like object form: luvan