Pääasioista

Pääasioista is a Finnish noun phrase used to refer to the main issues or core matters in a discussion or written text. It derives from pääasia (main issue) and is inflected in the elative plural form -ista/-istä to express “about the main issues” or to indicate the topic under consideration. In Finnish, the elative case is commonly used with verbs of talking, thinking, or deciding to specify the subject being addressed.

Grammatically, the base word is pääasia; its nominative plural is pääasiat. The form pääasioista represents the elative plural, and it commonly functions as the object of verbs that govern the elative, such as keskustella (to discuss), käsitellä (to treat), or päättää (to decide). The phrase may appear with various sentence structures and typically denotes a focus on essential topics rather than details.

Usage and nuance: In journalism, politics, and official documents, pääasioista signals that the discussion or decision centers on the essential topics. It is closely related to, but not always interchangeable with, synonyms such as ydinasiat (core matters) or keskeiset asiat (key issues). The choice of term can convey slight differences in emphasis—pääasioista foregrounds the principal matters at hand.

Examples: Keskustelimme pääasioista ennen kokouksen päätöksiä. Hallitus on jatkossa sitoutunut käsittelemään pääasioista johtuvia toimenpiteitä. Pääasioista voidaan kertoa tarkemmin loppuraportissa. See also: pääasia, ydinasiat, keskeiset asiat.