Breakdown of Valmistautumaton ehdokas on usein surkea ongelmanratkaisussa.
olla
to be
usein
often
ehdokas
candidate
valmistautua
to prepare (oneself)
Questions & Answers about Valmistautumaton ehdokas on usein surkea ongelmanratkaisussa.
Why is ongelmanratkaisussa in the inessive (-ssa) case?
This is driven by the adjective surkea (terrible or lousy). In Finnish, when an adjective expresses a level of skill or proficiency, the area of competence requires the inessive case. You will see this exact same pattern with words like hyvä (good), huono (bad), and taitava (skilled).
How would this sentence end if I used the verb 'to solve' instead of the noun 'problem-solving'?
You would use the 4th infinitive in the inessive case (-misessa). The verb is ratkaista (to solve). Its 4th infinitive form is ratkaiseminen, which becomes ratkaisemisessa. The object 'problems' would move to the plural genitive, making the phrase ongelmien ratkaisemisessa.
How is the adjective valmistautumaton formed?
It is the negative participle of the verb valmistautua (to prepare oneself). The suffix -maton (or -mätön) is added to the strong stem of the verb, turning it into an adjective that means 'unprepared' or 'not having prepared'.