epäasialliselta

Epäasialliselta is a Finnish adjective form derived from epäasiallinen, meaning "inappropriate" or "improper." The word is built from the negative prefix epä- attached to asiallinen (proper, appropriate). In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in case and number, so epäasiallinen has various inflected forms, including epäasialliselta, which phonologically corresponds to the elative singular form used in certain syntactic contexts.

Usage and meaning

Epäasialliselta is most commonly encountered in constructions describing something as inappropriate or improper in nature or manner. It often appears after verbs such as kuulostaa (to sound), tuntua (to feel), or vaikuttaa (to seem): for example, Se kuulostaa epäasialliselta (That sounds inappropriate) or Sen kommentit olivat epäasialliselta kuullostaneet (Its comments had sounded inappropriate). The form can also appear when the adjective modifies a noun in a non-nominative case, reflecting Finnish’s case system.

Related forms

The standard adverbial form is epäasiallisesti, meaning “inappropriately.” The base adjective epäasiallinen describes the property directly, as in epäasiallinen käytös (inappropriate behavior).

Usage notes

Epäasialliselta is a normal grammatical form used to describe the source, manner, or perception of impropriety in certain syntactic configurations. As with many Finnish adjectives, the exact ending helps match the case and number of the associated noun or clause.

See also

epäasiallinen, epäasiallisesti, suomalainen tilanne (for context on language usage)

This article provides a concise overview of the term and its typical uses in contemporary Finnish.