Vaikeammat

Vaikeammat is the plural comparative form of the Finnish adjective vaikea, meaning “more difficult.” It is used when comparing two or more items whose head noun is in the plural, to indicate a higher degree of difficulty. The comparative suffix in Finnish is -mpi, and for plural nouns the adjective takes the -ammat ending in the nominative plural, yielding muodossa vaikeammat.

In practice, vaikeammat appears either attributively before a plural noun or predicatively after a copula. For example: Nämä tehtävät ovat vaikeammat kuin nuo. (These tasks are more difficult than those.) Or: Tehtävät ovat vaikeammat, jotta niihin kannattaa varautua. (The tasks are more difficult, and one should prepare for them.) The basic singular form is vaikeampi, while the plural form is used with plural subjects.

The term is part of standard Finnish grammar and does not designate a separate concept beyond the ordinary comparative inflection of the adjective vaikea. It contrasts with the superlative muodossa vaikeimmat, which means “the most difficult,” used with plural nouns (e.g., Nämä tehtävät ovat vaikeimmat).

Usage notes: like other adjectives in Finnish, vaikeammat agrees in number and case with the noun it describes. It is common in both spoken and written Finnish, especially in contexts involving evaluation, comparison of tasks, problems, or situations.

See also: vaikea, Finnish grammar, comparative degree, superlative degree.