Breakdown of Uusi prototyyppi on kehittyneempi kuin vanha.
olla
to be
vanha
old
uusi
new
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
Questions & Answers about Uusi prototyyppi on kehittyneempi kuin vanha.
How is the word kehittyneempi formed?
It is the comparative form of kehittynyt (advanced/developed), which is the past active participle of the verb kehittyä (to develop). To form the comparative, the basic -nyt ending changes to its inflectional stem -nee-, and the comparative suffix -mpi is added: kehittynyt -> kehittynee- -> kehittyneempi.
Why is a past participle (-nyt) used here to mean "advanced" instead of a present participle (-vä)?
In Finnish, being "advanced" is viewed as the result of a completed process. The prototype has already developed to this state, so we use the past active participle (kehittynyt). A present active participle like kehittyvä would mean "developing" (an ongoing process), making kehittyvämpi mean "more developing," which does not fit the intended meaning here.
Could I drop the word kuin and just use the partitive case for vanha?
Yes! In Finnish, you can express comparisons either with kuin plus the nominative case (kehittyneempi kuin vanha) or by dropping kuin and putting the compared noun in the partitive case before the comparative adjective (vanhaa kehittyneempi). Both are perfectly natural, though the kuin structure is often easier to manage in longer sentences.
Why does the Finnish sentence just say vanha when the English translation says "the old one"?