Breakdown of Löysimme paremman fossiilin kuin te.
te
you (plural/formal)
löytää
to find
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
parempi
better
Questions & Answers about Löysimme paremman fossiilin kuin te.
Wait, paremman means "better"? What is the base word, and why does it have an -n at the end?
The base word is hyvä (good), and its comparative form is highly irregular: parempi (better). Because it describes the object of the sentence, it has to match the object's case. To add the genitive-accusative -n ending, the -mpi in parempi changes to -mma-, resulting in paremman.
Why are we using the genitive-accusative case (paremman fossiilin) instead of the partitive (parempaa fossiilia)?
The verb löytää (to find) almost always takes a total object. Finding something is seen as a completed action with a definitive result, so the object takes the genitive-accusative case to show that one whole, specific fossil was found.
Why is the word for "you", te, in the basic nominative case after kuin?
The case after kuin (than) depends on the word's role in the implied sentence. The full thought here is "than you found" (kuin te löysitte). Because te is the subject of that hidden action, it stays in the nominative case.