Learn Finnish: Arvioimme resurssit, ennen kuin teemme uuden panostuksen. - We estimate the resources before we make a new investment.

This is a great example of how total objects work in Finnish. Because resurssit is plural, its total object form looks exactly like the nominative plural (ending in -t). However, panostus is singular, so its total object form takes the genitive ending (-n), making it uuden panostuksen.

Why do we use ennen kuin instead of just ennen?

You need ennen kuin when introducing a full subordinate clause that has its own conjugated verb (teemme). If you just used ennen, it would act as a preposition and require a noun in the partitive case, for example: ennen uutta panostusta (before a new investment).

Is the comma before ennen kuin strictly necessary?

Yes. In Finnish, you must use a comma to separate a main clause (Arvioimme resurssit) from a subordinate clause (ennen kuin teemme uuden panostuksen). Unlike in English, where a comma before "before" is often omitted, Finnish punctuation rules are very strict about separating clauses that each have their own conjugated verb.

What kind of word is panostus and how is it related to other similar words?