Best Of (elative)

Level 3

When you want to say something is the 'most' out of a specific group, Finnish uses the superlative form of the adjective combined with the elative case (-sta/-stä) on the noun or pronoun representing that group.

How It Works

In Finnish, the elative case is the standard way to define the scope of a superlative comparison.

1. How to form it:
The elative suffix (-sta/-stä) is attached to the word representing the group. This word is usually in the plural because you are comparing one thing to many others. This applies to pronouns and regular nouns.

  • kaikki (all) → kaikista (of all)
  • me (we) → meistä (of us)
  • kaupunki (city) → kaupungeista (of the cities)

2. Case Agreement:
When the noun being described is in a case other than the nominative, the superlative adjective must also change. The strong stem -impa-/-impä- is used in cases like the illative (suurimpaan) or essive (suurimpana), while -imma-/-immä- is the weak stem (e.g., suurimmassa). The partitive singular adds '-ta/-tä' directly to the basic '-in' suffix (suurinta). In the plural, the strong stem is -impi- (e.g., suurimpiin, suurimpia) and the weak stem is -immi- (e.g., suurimmissa). Note that the word paras (best) is irregular and uses the stem parhaa- in cases (e.g., parhaalle), and its plural partitive form is parhaita (dropping an 'a'). Crucially, while the superlative adjective changes case to match its role in the sentence, the word representing the group always remains in the elative case (e.g., Hän antoi palkinnon kirjoista mielenkiintoisimmalle - He gave the prize to the most interesting of the books).

  • Tämä on kirjoista mielenkiintoisin. (This is the most interesting of the books.)
  • Hän on nuorin meistä. (He is the youngest of us.)

3. Of All and Very
Kaikista paras and paras kaikista can both mean the best out of all members of a set. Word order alone does not determine formality. When simply intensifying the superlative without specifying a set, kaikkein is the neutral written choice: kaikkein suurin (the very biggest). Colloquial kaikista also serves this intensifying function.

4. Word Order:
Both orders are standard: pojista vanhin ~ vanhin pojista (the oldest of the boys), and meistä nuorin ~ nuorin meistä (the youngest of us). Choose according to the context and what information you want to foreground.

5. Specific vs. General:
The elative names the set whose members are compared: opiskelijoista nuorin (the youngest of the students). A genitive noun can instead define the domain or group associated with the superlative noun phrase: luokan nuorin opiskelija (the youngest student in the class), maailman paras (the world’s best). This is not a rule based only on geographic size or specificity.

Examples (5)

  1. Hän on meistä nuorin.

    He/she is the youngest of us.

    Word by Word: He/she is from-us youngest.

    The pronoun 'me' (we) takes the elative ending -stä to show the group being compared.

  2. Tämä on vaikein kaikista tehtävistä.

    This is the most difficult of all the tasks.

    Word by Word: This is most-difficult from-all tasks.

    Both 'kaikki' (all) and 'tehtävä' (task) are in the elative plural to define the set of tasks.

  3. Se oli kaunein näistä kuvista.

    It was the most beautiful of these pictures.

    Word by Word: It was most-beautiful from-these pictures.

    The elative plural 'näistä kuvista' specifies which pictures are being compared.

  4. Kuka on luokan nopein juoksija?

    Who is the fastest runner in the class?

    Word by Word: Who is class's fastest runner?

    Luokan defines the domain of the noun phrase 'fastest runner'. To select a member out of the students, use the elative opiskelijoista.

  5. Tämä on kaikista paras vaihtoehto.

    This is the best option of all.

    Word by Word: This is from-all best option.

    In this common phrase, 'kaikista' (of all) is placed before the superlative 'paras' (best).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'kuin' (than) with a superlative.

    Hän on paras kuin kaikki.
    Hän on kaikista paras.

    The word 'kuin' is only used for the comparative degree (better than) or equality (as good as). Superlatives require the elative case for the group.

  • Failing to mark the comparison group with a case ending.

    Hän on me paras.
    Hän on meistä paras.

    Meistä means of us and identifies the comparison set. A location phrase such as maailmassa is not inherently wrong; maailman paras and paras maailmassa can both occur.

  • Using the partitive case for the group in a superlative comparison.

    Hän on paras meitä.
    Hän on meistä paras.

    While the partitive case is sometimes seen in formal literature (e.g., 'kaunein kukkia'), it is not used in standard modern Finnish for comparison. You should use the elative to define the group.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Best Of (elative)Level 3

Learn This First

To use the 'best of' construction, you need to understand how to form the superlative degree of adjectives and how to use the elative case (-sta/-stä) in the plural to define the group being compared.

Words in This Pattern

-sta-stä