Breakdown of Projektin kesto on kohtuullinen lopputulokseen nähden.
olla
to be
projekti
project
lopputulos
outcome
nähden
relative to
Questions & Answers about Projektin kesto on kohtuullinen lopputulokseen nähden.
Why is lopputulos in the illative case (lopputulokseen) here?
The postposition nähden (meaning "relative to" or "compared to") always requires the word it modifies to be in the illative case. You can think of it literally as "looking into the outcome," since nähden comes from the verb nähdä (to see).
Could we put nähden before lopputulokseen?
No, nähden acts strictly as a postposition here, meaning it must come after the noun it relates to. The word order is always lopputulokseen nähden, never the other way around.
Is kesto related to the verb kestää?
Yes. Kesto (duration) is a noun derived directly from the verb kestää (to last, to endure). Finnish often creates nouns from verbs by taking the verb stem and adding an -o or -ö ending.
How does the suffix in kohtuullinen affect its meaning?
The word is built from the noun kohtuus (moderation or fairness) plus the common adjective-forming suffix -llinen. Together they create kohtuullinen, meaning "reasonable" or "moderate."