Breakdown of Milloin arvokkuus on yhä tärkeämpää?
olla
to be
milloin
when
tärkeä
important
yhä
still, yet (continuing)
Questions & Answers about Milloin arvokkuus on yhä tärkeämpää?
I normally translate yhä as "still". How does it mean "increasingly" here?
When yhä is paired with a comparative adjective or adverb, such as tärkeämpää (more important), it expresses a continuous change. In English, you typically translate this structure as "increasingly [adjective]" or by repeating the comparative word, like "more and more important".
Why is the comparative adjective in the partitive case (tärkeämpää) rather than the nominative (tärkeämpi)?
In predicative sentences (sentences following the 'A is B' pattern), the describing adjective must be in the partitive case if the subject is an abstract or uncountable noun. Because arvokkuus (dignity) is an abstract concept, the adjective takes the partitive tärkeämpää.
How is the noun arvokkuus built from its root word?
It starts with the noun arvo (value or worth). Adding the suffix -kas creates the adjective arvokas (valuable, dignified). Adding the suffix -uus turns it into the abstract noun arvokkuus (dignity). Notice the consonant gradation where the single k in the adjective strengthens to a double kk before the noun suffix.
Could I use entistä instead of yhä in this sentence to mean the same thing?
Yes! You could say entistä tärkeämpää, which translates literally to "more important than before" and is very commonly used in Finnish to mean "increasingly important". Using yhä is just a slightly more concise equivalent to "increasingly".