Rektiot <> Rections

Now that you've come this far, you know that in any sentence the verb has an effect on the noun and any adjectives relating to that noun. A verb can also be followed by a second verb, so make sure that you've carefully studied "the third infinitive" before you start on this section, because I don't want to confuse you.

Let's look at some rektioita that you allready know:

Odottaa         +P  (Partitiivi)                         Odotan bussia.
Mennä           + Mihin                                   Menen kouluun.
Tulla              + Mistä                                   Tulen keskustasta.
Olla                + Missä                                  Olen torilla.

These are all fairly simple, and you can apply some logic to them. However, the thing about rections is that it's not necessarily logical. .

Let's look at some examples:

Tykätä           + Mistä                                  Tykkään jalkapalosta.
Väsyä            + Mihin                                  Olen väsynyt kävelemiseen.
Viihtyä           + Missä                                 Olen viihtynyt hyvin Suomessa.

Now you have to stop thinking of the suffixes as meaning to, on, in, from etc. You just have to think of them as the thing that goes with that particular verb.

Tykkään jalkapallosta. Why -sta? It just is.

There's not much to actually teach here. I can only tell you some useful verbs to remember and their corresponding rektio. I'll put them into sentences too. I suggest that you also try to create your own sentences using these verbs. That's the best way to learn.

Mistä 

Tykätä                     Tykkään tanssimisesta.
                                I like dancing.

Pitää                        Pidän auringon ottamisesta.
                                I like sunbathing.

Nauttia                    Nautin tästä kirjasta.
                                I'm enjoying this book.

Myöhästyä              En koskaan myöhästy koulusta.
                               I'm never late for school.

Unelmoida              Unelmoin uudesta elämästä.
                               I dream about a new life.

Puhua                     Me puhuimme tästä asiasta jo eilen.
                               We spoke about this yesterday.

Kysyä                     Kysyn opettajalta kokeesta.
                               I'll ask the teacher about the exam.

Keskustella            Tauolla keskustelemme usein urheilusta.
                               Duing the break we often talk about sport.

Riippua                  Tuletko mukaan uimaan? Se riippuu säästä.
                               Are you coming swimming? It depends on the weather.

Missä 

Viihtyä                    Viihdyn hyvin uudessa työpaikassani.
                               I feel at home in my new job.

Asua                       Asutko kerrostalossa vai omakotitalossa?
                               Do you live in an apartment building or a house?

Käydä                     Kävimme saunassa perjantaina.
                               We went in the sauna on perjantaina.

Mihin 

Tutustua                 Oletko tutustunut minun siskooni Hannaan?
                               Have you met my sister Hanna?

Väsyä                   Olen väsynyt minun työhöni.
                               I'm tired of my job.

Kyllästyä            Olen kyllästynyt tähän aiheeseen.
                              I'm bored of this subject.

Vaikuttaa               Sodat vaikuttavat meihin kaikkiin.
                              Wars affect us all.

Ihastua                   Alex on ihastunut Hannaan.
                               Alex is attracted to Hanna.

Jäädä                     Kun muut olivat lähteneet kotiin, Saara jäi luokkaan opiskelemaan.
                               When the others had gone home, Saara stayed in the class to study.

Jättää                     Voitte jättää tavarat luokkaan. Ette tarvitse niitä ulkona.
                               You can leave the things in the classroom. You don't need them outside.

Unohtaa                 Unohdin avaimet kotiin. 
                               I forgot my keys (at home).

Joutua                    Jouduin soittamaan talon isännöitsijälle.    
                               I had to call the building manager.

Sense-verbs   /   Aistiverbit       + Miltä

Näyttää                  Tämä tehtävä näyttää vaikealta.
                               This exercise looks difficult.

Kuulostaa              Sinä kuulostat sairaalta.
                              You sound sick.

Maistua                  Tämä meloni maistuu happamalta.
                               This melon tastes bitter.

Tuoksua                 Kesä tuoksuu tuoreelta ruoholta.
                              Summer smells of fresh grass.

Haista                    Parvekkeella haisee tupakalta.
                              The balcony smells/stinks of cigarettes.

Tuntua                   Tämä pyyhe tuntuu märältä.
                              This towel feels wet.

Vaikuttaa               Minun uusi naapuri vaikuttaa mukavalta ihmiseltä.
                              My new neighbour seems like a nice person.


There aren't any concrete rules as to working out the rektio of a verb. You just have to remember them. I suggest that you memorise these ones and you'll learn others through experience. When you learn a new verb you can ask your teacher "Mikä on sen rektio?" and they will tell you. Only a teacher will understand this though. Finnish people learn these things naturally. They don't have a clue what rektio even means.

At this point I'd like to suggest a book. This was my bible for about a month while I was trying to remember as many rektio-verbs as possible. I still refer back to it constantly. This is one subject that foreigners studying Finnish almost never stop learning so I strongly suggest that you check out Tarkista Tästä.

Inside this book are hundreds/thousands of verbs listed in
alphabetical order. Alongside every verb you are told the
rektio of the verb and given example sentences. It's one
of the most useful books that you can have with you when
studying Finnish.

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