Eiinstrumentaalisiin

Eiinstrumentaalisiin is a Finnish linguistic term used primarily in scholarly discussions to refer to a specific grammatical form: the illative plural form of the adjective ei-instrumentaalinen, literally meaning “non-instrumental.” The base ei-instrumentaalinen denotes something that does not function as an instrument, which stands in contrast to instrumentaalinen, meaning instrumental. The suffix -isiin marks the illative plural, indicating a directional or into-relationship with multiple entities described as non-instrumental.

In practice, eiinstrumentaalisiin appears in typological or descriptive analyses that contrast non-instrumental and instrumental constructions within languages that have an instrumental function or case. It is a morpho-syntactic label rather than a concept with a broad, independent theoretical framework. Because Finnish adjectives and attributive phrases take inflection to agree with their nouns, eiinstrumentaalisiin would be used in a sentence or example where the reference group is plural and in the illative case, meaning something akin to “into non-instrumental ones.”

The term is not widely used as a standalone concept outside linguistic analysis or typological discussion. It serves as a precise descriptor in contexts where researchers are delineating non-instrumental uses from instrumental ones, particularly when illustrating how different languages or constructions handle instrumentality and related case-marking.

See also: instrumentaalinen (instrumental), ei-, Finnish grammar, illatiivi/illative case, instrumental case, linguistic typology.