Edellisestä

Edellisestä is a Finnish word form functioning as the elative singular of the adjective edellinen, meaning “previous” or “earlier.” It is used to indicate origin from or reference to something that has already been mentioned or described.

As an inflected adjective, edellisestä does not stand alone; it forms part of a noun phrase and agrees with the noun it modifies in case and number. In practice, it appears with a noun in the elative case to express “from the previous …” For example, edellisestä kappaleesta means “from the previous paragraph,” and edellisestä tutkimuksesta means “from the previous study.”

Usage of edellisestä is common in formal writing, such as academic texts, reports, and descriptive prose, where authors refer back to earlier material, sections, or statements. It helps connect sentences and clarify sourcing or sequencing of information. For instance, a sentence might read: “Edellisestä kappaleesta voidaan todeta, että…” (“From the previous paragraph it can be noted that…”).

Etymologically, edellisestä derives from edellinen, which itself comes from the Finnish root ed- meaning “before.” The form edellisestä thus reflects standard Finnish adjective inflection patterns, aligning with the noun it modifies.

See also: edellinen, Finnish grammar, Finnish case system.