Learn Finnish: Kevyt jutustelu on joskus vaikeaa. - Light small talk is sometimes difficult.

In Finnish, when the subject is an uncountable concept or an activity like jutustelu (small talk), the adjective that describes it (the predicative) must be in the partitive case. It describes the general nature of the activity rather than a single, countable object.

If vaikeaa is partitive, why is the other adjective, kevyt, in the nominative case?

Kevyt acts as an attributive adjective, meaning it sits directly next to the noun it modifies (jutustelu) and must agree with it in case. Since jutustelu is the subject of the sentence and in the nominative case, kevyt must also be in the nominative.

How does the word jutustelu relate to the basic verb jutella?

It comes from a chain of derivations. The root noun is juttu (story or thing), which gives the verb jutella (to chat). Adding the suffix -stella creates jutustella, which implies a more casual, continuous, or relaxed chatting. Finally, the -u ending turns that back into the noun jutustelu (the act of casual chatting).

Could I use the nominative vaikea at the end of the sentence instead?