Breakdown of Hän on mitä yhteistyökykyisin kumppani.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
kumppani
partner
mitä
exceedingly / the most (intensifier)
yhteistyökykyinen
cooperative
Questions & Answers about Hän on mitä yhteistyökykyisin kumppani.
Why is mitä used here instead of a normal intensifier like erittäin or todella?
In this absolute superlative construction, mitä paired with a superlative adjective (yhteistyökykyisin) translates to something like "as [adjective] as can be" or "exceedingly [adjective]". It is a slightly formal, highly expressive way to show that someone or something embodies the absolute peak of a quality, going a step further than just saying they are "very" cooperative.
Since mitä is a partitive word, why are yhteistyökykyisin and kumppani in the nominative case?
In this specific phrase, mitä functions as an uninflected adverbial modifier (like the English word "exceedingly") rather than a pronoun, so it doesn't force the following words into the partitive. The underlying sentence structure is simply Hän on kumppani (He is a partner), where the noun following the verb "to be" naturally stays in the nominative case.
How is the long word yhteistyökykyisin broken down?
It is a compound adjective in its superlative form. It combines yhteistyö (cooperation) and kykyinen (capable/having the ability). To form the superlative, the typical -nen ending of the adjective changes to -sin, resulting in yhteistyökykyisin (most capable of cooperation).
Could I say hän on mitä yhteistyökykyisimpiä kumppaneita instead?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. Changing the adjective and noun to the plural partitive means "He is one of the most cooperative partners." The singular nominative used in this sentence (kumppani) focuses solely on him as an individual, translating to "He is an exceedingly cooperative partner."
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