Adjektiivinen

Adjektiivinen is a Finnish term meaning adjectival or relating to adjectives. In Finnish grammar it is used to describe the property or category of adjectives and to refer to how adjectives function within the language.

In Finnish, adjektiivit express properties of nouns and are declined for number and case to agree with the noun. They do not mark gender. Adjectives can occur in attributive position directly before the noun (for example, iso talo “a big house”) or predicatively after a linking verb (talo on iso “the house is big”). They form degrees: positiivi (base form), komparatiivi (comparative, often with -mpi, for example iso → isompi), and superlatiivi (superlative, often with -in, for example isoin). The adjective agrees with the noun in number and case, so it changes form in plural and in different cases (for example isot talot, isojen talojen).

Adjektiivien voi muodostaa adverbeja lisäämällä -sti, jolloin esimerkiksi nopea → nopeasti tarkoittaa “quickly.” Joidenkin adjektiivien adverbiaalinen muoto voi poiketa, mutta -sti-ellä käytetään yleisesti.

The term adjektiivinen is derived from adjektiivi with the suffix -nen, forming meaning “adjectival” or “relating to adjectives.” It is commonly used in linguistic descriptions, such as adjektiivinen ilmaus (an adjectival expression) or adjektiivinen lause (an adjective clause), to label elements or phenomena that function like adjectives within a sentence.

See also: substantiivinen, verbi, adjektiivinen lause.