The verb "harrastaa"
When you want to say that you are interested as a hobby in a certain sport, dance, music, or any other noun, you put that noun in the partitive.
| - Mitä sinä harrastat? |
- What do you enjoy as a hobby? |
| - Harrastan hiihtoa, luistelua, tennistä,... |
- I enjoy skiing, skating, tennis,.... |
| - Harrastan salsaa, sambaa, balettia,... |
- In enjoy salsa, samba, ballet,... |
When you want to say you enjoy DOING something, you can't use just the infinitive of the verb! You have to turn it into a noun. This means taking the 3rd person plural, removing the -vat and adding -minen. This -minen form of the verb is called the fourth infinitive.
| - Mitä sinä harrastat? |
- What do you enjoy doing as a hobby? |
| - Harrastan opiskelemista. |
- I enjoy studying as a hobby. |
| - Harrastamme lukemista. |
- We enjoy reading as a hobby. |
| - Harrastat leipomista. |
- You like to bake as a hobby. |
When you want to make a combination and say you enjoy watching (=verb) television (=noun), you have to change the word order. The noun will in this case always be put in the genitive form.
| - Mitä sinä harrastat? |
- What do you enjoy doing as a hobby? |
| - Harrastan television katsomista. |
- I enjoy watching television as a hobby. |
| - Harrastamme ruoan laittamista. |
- We enjoy preparing food as a hobby. |
| - Harrastat leipomista. |
- You like to bake as a hobby. |
