Pitä

Pitää is a versatile Finnish verb that belongs to the kääntää verb group in the third conjugation. It is one of the most commonly used verbs in Finnish and carries multiple meanings depending on context.

The verb pitää has several primary meanings. In its most frequent usage, it means "to hold" or "to keep," as in physically holding something or keeping something in one's possession. It can also mean "to need" or "to have to," expressing necessity or obligation, similar to the English "must" or "have to." Additionally, pitää can express liking or enjoyment, equivalent to "to like" in English.

Conjugation follows regular patterns for third conjugation verbs. In present tense, it conjugates as: minä pidän, sinä pidät, hän pitää, me pidämme, te pidätte, he pitävät. The past tense forms are: minä piti(n), sinä piti(t), hän piti, me piti(mme), te piti(tte), he piti(vät). The perfect tense uses the auxiliary verb "olla" and the past participle "pitänyt."

The verb appears frequently in everyday Finnish conversation and writing. Common expressions include "minä pidän sinusta" (I like you), "sinun pitää mennä" (you have to go), and "pidä kiinni" (hold on). It also appears in numerous idiomatic expressions and compound words.

Pitää can be used in various grammatical constructions, including with different cases. When expressing liking, it takes the elative case (mistä), while expressing possession or physical holding typically involves the accusative or other appropriate cases.

The verb's flexibility makes it essential for Finnish learners to master, as it appears in countless contexts and constructions throughout all levels of Finnish language use.