In English, we say someone is "good at" or "terrible at" something. In Finnish, adjectives describing skill or proficiency—such as hyvä (good), etevä (capable), surkea (terrible), or keskinkertainen (mediocre)—require the inessive case (-ssa / -ssä).
Skills with Nouns
When the area of competence is a noun, simply attach the inessive ending.
| We are looking for an expert who is capable at problem-solving. | Etsimme osaajaa, joka on etevä ongelmanratkaisussa. |
| I am terrible at recruitment, which is a big problem. | Olen surkea rekrytoinnissa, mikä on suuri ongelma. |
Skills with Verbs (-misessa)
To express skill at doing an action, turn the verb into a noun using the 4th infinitive (-minen). In the inessive case, this ending becomes -misessa or -misessä.
For example, organisoida (to organize) becomes organisoiminen (organizing). Adding the inessive ending makes it organisoimisessa.
| On the one hand he is only mediocre at organizing, but on the other hand capable at leadership. | Toisaalta hän on vain keskinkertainen organisoimisessa, mutta toisaalta etevä johtamisessa. |
| We assess suitability, because the manager must be capable at listening. | Arvioimme soveltuvuutta, koska johtajan täytyy olla etevä kuuntelemisessa. |
| The manager whom I interviewed was mediocre at speaking. | Johtaja, jota haastattelin, oli keskinkertainen puhumisessa. |
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