Edellytyksenä

Edellytyksenä is a Finnish noun form meaning “as a prerequisite” or “as a condition.” It is used to indicate a necessary condition for something to occur or be possible, and is most common in formal, written language such as legislation, policy documents, contracts, and academic texts. The word appears in phrases that frame a clause or circumstance as a requirement for another action or state.

In practice, it is often used with the predicative structure on the noun, for example: Riittävä rahoitus on edellytys hankkeen toteutumiselle, meaning that adequate funding is the prerequisite for the project’s realization. Another common construction is edellytyksenä + illative/partitive forms, such as Koulutuksen suorittaminen on edellytys työn saamiselle (Completing the training is a prerequisite for obtaining the job). A third example might be Alueen kaavavaatimusten täyttäminen on edellytys rakentamisen aloittamiselle (Fulfillment of zoning requirements is a prerequisite for starting construction).

Etymology and related terms: edellytys is the base noun meaning “prerequisite” or “requirement,” from which edellytyksenä is formed in the essive/translative mood to express “as a prerequisite.” Related words include ehto and vaatimus, which are broader or more everyday terms for “condition” or “requirement,” but edellytys carries a sense of essential, verifiable precondition in formal contexts.

Notes: The term emphasizes necessity rather than mere possibility and is especially prevalent in legal, administrative, and policy discourse. While synonyms exist, edellytys often conveys a stricter gatekeeping function than more general terms like ehto.