Breakdown of Työkaverilla on paljon kokemusta isoista projekteista.
olla
to be
iso
big
paljon
much
-sta
from
työkaveri
the coworker
kokemus
the experience
-lla
with
projekti
the project
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Questions & Answers about Työkaverilla on paljon kokemusta isoista projekteista.
Why is työkaverilla used instead of työkaveri, and how does this structure express “has” in Finnish?
In Finnish possession is shown with the -lla/–llä adessive case plus on (“is”).
- työkaverilla is työkaveri (“colleague”) in the adessive: “at the colleague.”
- on then means “there is.”
So Työkaverilla on … literally “At the colleague there is …,” i.e. “The colleague has ….”
What case is kokemusta, and why is it in the partitive singular?
kokemusta is the partitive singular of kokemus (“experience”).
Two reasons for partitive here:
- paljon (“a lot”) always takes its object in the partitive.
- We talk about an uncountable amount of experience, not individual experiences.
Why do we use paljon instead of a numeral or monta?
- paljon means “a lot of” and pairs with uncountable nouns in partitive.
- monta (“many”) is for countable items in plural partitive (e.g. monta kirjaa “many books”).
Since kokemus is treated as an uncountable mass here, paljon kokemusta is the natural choice.
What case is isoista projekteista, and why do we need that ending?
isoista projekteista is plural elative (stem + -ista/–istä).
- Elative expresses “out of” or “from.”
- When you say you have experience jostakin (“from something”), you use elative.
So isoista projekteista = “from big projects.”
Could you say paljon kokemuksia instead of paljon kokemusta? Why or why not?
You could say monia kokemuksia (“many experiences”), but that shifts the meaning to discrete events.
- paljon kokemusta = general, uncountable body of experience.
- paljon kokemuksia sounds like “lots of separate experiences” and isn’t how you describe overall expertise.
Finnish has no “a” or “the.” How do you know if something is definite or indefinite here?
Finnish simply omits articles. Context, word order, and sometimes demonstratives (this/that) signal definiteness.
In Työkaverilla on paljon kokemusta isoista projekteista, nobody expects an extra “the” or “a”—it reads naturally as “has a lot of experience in big projects.”
Can the word order in that sentence be changed? What happens if you move the parts around?
Yes—Finnish is flexible. You could say:
- Työkaverilla on isoista projekteista paljon kokemusta. (Here the focus shifts slightly to experience from big projects.)
- Paljon kokemusta isoista projekteista on työkaverilla. (More poetic or emphatic, stressing how much experience there is.)
Meaning stays the same, but emphasis and style change.
Could you rephrase using the verb kokea instead of on kokemusta?
Yes. For example:
Työkaveri on kokenut paljon isoja projekteja.
- kokea (“to experience/undergo”) + object in plural partitive (isoja projekteja)
This says “The colleague has gone through many big projects,” focusing on the events themselves rather than general expertise.