Breakdown of Menestys olisi kohtuullinen pieneen panostukseen nähden.
olla
to be
pieni
small
menestys
success
nähden
relative to
kohtuullinen
reasonable
panostus
effort (investment, input)
Questions & Answers about Menestys olisi kohtuullinen pieneen panostukseen nähden.
Why are the words pieneen panostukseen in the illative case here?
The postposition nähden translates to "relative to," "in view of," or "compared to." It strictly requires the noun phrase it governs to be in the illative case (the "into" case). Because the noun panostukseen takes the illative ending, the adjective modifying it, pieneen, must also be in the illative so that they agree.
The English translation says "effort", but doesn't panostus usually mean "investment"?
Yes, panostus literally means an investment or input, coming from the verb panostaa (to invest or put effort into something). While words like vaiva or yritys can also translate to "effort," panostus specifically implies resources, time, or energy strategically put into a task to achieve a result, making it perfect for this sentence's context of comparing input to success.
Can nähden ever be placed before the noun phrase, like a preposition?
No, nähden functions exclusively as a postposition in standard Finnish. It must always come after the noun phrase it relates to, so the correct structure will always be [Illative noun phrase] + nähden.
Is the postposition nähden related to the verb nähdä (to see)?
Yes! Grammatically, nähden is an old instructive form of the second infinitive of nähdä. You can think of its literal historical meaning as "by seeing" or "when looking at," which smoothly evolved into the modern relational meaning of "in view of" or "compared to."
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