Terävällä

Terävällä is a Finnish grammatical form that functions as the adessive singular of the adjective terävä, meaning sharp or acute. In Finnish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number, case, and definiteness, and the adessive case (-lla) is used to express location or the means by which something is done. Therefore terävällä appears in phrases describing the instrument or edge involved, such as with a knife or a blade.

Common uses include describing tools, edges, or manner of action. For example, leikkaa pahvin terävällä veitsellä means “cut the cardboard with a sharp knife,” where terävällä conveys the sharpness of the instrument. Another frequent expression is terävällä kielellä, meaning “with a sharp tongue” or “in a sharp/mordant manner,” as in criticism or commentary.

Etymology and morphology: terävällä is formed from the root terävä (sharp) plus the adessive suffix -llä, which marks location or means. The root terävä itself derives from terä, meaning blade or edge, and has comparative and superlative forms such as terävämpi and terävin. The adessive form terävällä thus specifically emphasizes the instrument or edge involved in the action or the location where something is situated.

Usage notes: Terävällä is versatile and appears in both literal and figurative contexts. It is most common when describing physical tools or edges, but it also appears in figurative phrases to describe language or style. The form agrees with the noun it relates to in the phrase, and the accompanying noun is typically in the instrumental or edge-related sense.

See also: terävä, terä, Finnish adjectives, Finnish grammar, adessive case.