Breakdown of Kilpailijoihin verrattuna tämä tuotanto on todella kilpailukykyinen.
tämä
this
olla
to be
todella
really (very, intensifier)
kilpailija
competitor
Questions & Answers about Kilpailijoihin verrattuna tämä tuotanto on todella kilpailukykyinen.
Why does verrattuna require the illative case (kilpailijoihin)?
The postposition verrattuna comes from the verb verrata (to compare). In Finnish, the verb verrata naturally dictates that the thing you are comparing something to takes the illative case (the "into" case). Here, the base word is kilpailija (competitor), which becomes kilpailijoihin in the plural illative.
What exact grammatical form is the word verrattuna?
It is the past passive participle (often called the TU/TTY participle) of the verb verrata, plus the essive case ending -na (meaning "as a state of"). Literally, it translates to "as compared [to]". While it functions as an adposition of comparison here, its shape comes entirely from standard verb grammar!
Could I change the word order to verrattuna kilpailijoihin?
Yes, you could. While verrattuna usually acts as a postposition (coming after the noun, as it does in this sentence), it is one of the flexible adpositions that can also be used as a preposition. Saying verrattuna kilpailijoihin is perfectly correct and doesn't change the meaning at all.
How is the long adjective kilpailukykyinen built?
It is a highly logical compound word made of three parts: kilpailu (competition) + kyky (ability) + the common adjective-forming suffix -inen. Literally, it describes something as "having the ability for competition", which perfectly translates to "competitive".