Kyvyllään

Kyvyllään is a Finnish grammatical form derived from the noun kyky, meaning ability. It is formed by adding the instrumental/possessive suffix -llään to kyky, producing the expression that literally means “with his/her ability” or “by virtue of his/her ability.” The construction is used to indicate that an action is carried out through the subject’s own competence rather than with external help. It is common in written Finnish, including narrative and expository prose, and can emphasize skill, merit, or self-reliance.

Grammatical function and usage notes: Kyvyllään functions as an instrument/method phrase in a sentence, with the subject of the action understood from context. The suffix signals both the means (ability) and the third-person possessive reference, so the referent is tied to the surrounding discourse. It can contrast with actions performed with assistance or external support.

Examples:

- Hän ratkaisi tehtävän kyvyllään. (He solved the task with his own ability.)

- Hän selvisi kokeesta kyvyllään, ilman muiden apua. (He managed the test by his own ability, without help from others.)

Etymology and relation: Kyvyllään is part of a broader pattern in Finnish where nouns expressing capability or power combine with the -llään/-llaan form to express “by/with … of someone.” A closely related form from the same word-class pattern is voimal-lään (from voima, power). The usage of kyvyllään tends to be more formal or literary than everyday speech, where phrases like “omalla kyvyllä” or “itsellään” might be chosen for emphasis.