Question 1

Since this lesson is about nähden (in relation to), could we use it here to say the budget was reasonable in relation to the features?

Accepted Answer

Yes! If you wanted to express that idea, you could drop the ennen kuin clause and say Budjetti oli kohtuullinen uusiin ominaisuuksiin nähden (The budget was reasonable in relation to the new features). Remember that nähden requires the preceding word to be in the illative case, which is why we would use uusiin ominaisuuksiin.

Question 2

Why is there a comma before ennen kuin?

Accepted Answer

In Finnish, subordinate clauses must almost always be separated from the main clause by a comma. Because ennen kuin (before) introduces a new clause with its own verb (lisäsimme), the comma is grammatically required here, unlike in English.

Question 3

Why is uusia ominaisuuksia in the partitive plural rather than the accusative?

Accepted Answer

The verb lisätä (to add) typically takes a partitive object because the action usually involves adding an indefinite amount or an unspecified number of things ('some new features'). Just like you would say lisään sokeria (I add sugar), you use the partitive plural here for both the adjective and the noun.

Question 4

What is the base form of ominaisuuksia and how does it change to this form?

Accepted Answer

The nominative base form is ominaisuus (feature or quality). For nouns ending in -uus or -yys, the consonant stem changes to -uuks- or -yyks-. To form the partitive plural, we add the plural marker -i- and the partitive ending -a, transforming ominaisuus into ominaisuuksia.

Budjetti oli kohtuullinen, ennen kuin lisäsimme uusia ominaisuuksia.

Breakdown of Budjetti oli kohtuullinen, ennen kuin lisäsimme uusia ominaisuuksia.

Questions & Answers about Budjetti oli kohtuullinen, ennen kuin lisäsimme uusia ominaisuuksia.

Learn Budjetti oli kohtuullinen, ennen kuin lisäsimme uusia ominaisuuksia and more in Finnish