Breakdown of Olen todella pätevä tähän työhön.
tämä
this
olla
to be
työ
work
todella
really (very, intensifier)
pätevä
qualified
Questions & Answers about Olen todella pätevä tähän työhön.
Why is "for this job" translated using the illative case (tähän työhön) instead of a case that means "for"?
This is because of the adjective pätevä (qualified/competent). In English, we say qualified for, but Finnish adjective rections don't always match English prepositions. The adjective pätevä strictly requires the target of the qualification to be in the illative case (the "into" case). You just have to memorize the pair: pätevä + illative.
How exactly is the illative ending formed for the word työ?
Why does the word for "this" (tämä) change to tähän here?
In Finnish, modifier words like "this" must match the grammatical case of the noun they describe. Since työ is in the illative case (työhön), tämä must also be in the illative. The pronoun tämä is a bit irregular; its illative form is tähän. Together they make tähän työhön (into this job).
Could I use tosi instead of todella in this sentence?
Yes, you absolutely could say tosi pätevä, as both mean "really" or "very". However, todella is slightly more formal and standard. Since talking about being qualified for a job usually happens in professional contexts, todella is a very natural and polite choice, whereas tosi is more common in casual spoken Finnish.
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