Breakdown of Palvelu on yleensä ystävällistä.
olla
to be
ystävällinen
friendly
palvelu
the service
yleensä
generally, in general
Questions & Answers about Palvelu on yleensä ystävällistä.
The lesson is about adverbs ending in -sti. Why doesn't yleensä end in -sti if it means "generally"?
Yleensä is a very common fixed word that means "usually" or "as a rule". You can form the regular -sti adverb yleisesti from the adjective yleinen (general), but yleensä is the much more natural choice in everyday Finnish for this meaning.
Could I use the adverb ystävällisesti (in a friendly way) here instead?
Not in this sentence structure. Because you are describing what the noun palvelu (service) is, you need the adjective ystävällistä. You would use the -sti adverb ystävällisesti if you were describing how an action is done, such as: Hän palvelee minua ystävällisesti (He/She serves me in a friendly way).
Why is ystävällistä in the partitive case here, instead of the basic form ystävällinen?
In Finnish, when you use the verb olla (to be) to describe an abstract or uncountable noun like palvelu (service), the describing adjective must be in the partitive case. If you were describing a specific person or countable thing, you would use the basic form: Mies on ystävällinen (The man is friendly).
Where does the noun palvelu come from?
It is built from the verb palvella (to serve). Adding a -u or -y to a verb stem is a very common way to create a noun in Finnish.
Learn Palvelu on yleensä ystävällistä and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free