tarvitsin

Tarvitsin is a Finnish verb form that represents the first-person singular imperfect (preterite) of tarvita, meaning to need. It is used to say that the speaker needed something at a past time. The related noun tarve means “need,” and the verb belongs to a family that includes tarvita and its other forms such as tarvitseminen (needing).

Formation and usage: Tarvita is a transitive verb. The present first-person form is tarvitsen (I need), while the past tense first-person form is tarvitsin (I needed). In negative contexts, the past form is en tarvinnut (I did not need). As with many Finnish verbs, the object of tarvita is typically in the partitive case, for example rahaa (money) or apua (help).

Examples:

- Eilen tarvitsin apua. (Yesterday I needed help.)

- Tarvitsin rahaa, mutta en saanut sitä. (I needed money, but I didn’t get it.)

- Minä tarvitsin uuden välineen. (I needed a new tool.)

Related terms and notes: Tarvitsen, the present-tense form, is commonly used in everyday speech. The noun tarve provides a lexical link to the concept of need, and tarvitseminen refers to the ongoing process of needing. Tarvitsin can appear in narrative or reported speech to convey past necessity.

See also: tarvita, tarve, tarvitseminen.