Keskeneräinen

Keskeneräinen is a Finnish adjective meaning unfinished, not yet completed, or in progress. It is formed from kesken, meaning in the middle of or ongoing, with the common adjectival suffix -inen, and is used to describe things that have not reached a final, finished state.

Usage and examples

Keskeneräinen describes projects, plans, works, documents and other items that are not yet complete. Examples: “keskeneräinen projekti” (an unfinished project), “keskeneräiset suunnitelmat” (unfinished plans), “keskeneräinen työ” (an incomplete task). In sentences the form agrees with the noun in number and case, for instance: “Projekti on keskeneräinen” (the project is unfinished) and “Keskeneräistä työtä on vielä jäljellä” (There is still unfinished work to do).

Grammar and forms

Finnish adjectives decline like other adjectives. The basic nominative singular form is keskeneräinen; in plural it becomes keskeneräiset. Partitive singular is keskeneräistä, while genitive singular is keskeneräisen. The adjective follows standard Finnish declension patterns and can be used in all cases and numbers, with corresponding endings.

Gradation

Finnish allows comparative and superlative forms for adjectives. For keskeneräinen, common forms include keskeneräisempi (more unfinished) and keskeneräisimmän (the most unfinished, in appropriate cases). These forms are used when comparing states of incompleteness.

Related terms

Related words include kesken (in progress), keskeneräisyys (incompleteness), and epävalmis (unready). The term is common in educational, software development, construction, and literary contexts when describing the current state of an item or process.