Englantilaisiin

Englantilaisiin is the illative plural form of the Finnish noun englantilainen, meaning “an English person” or “the English people.” In Finnish, the illative case is used to express movement toward or into a destination or group, and the illative plural is formed by adding the suffix -iin to the stem englantilais-, giving englantilaisiin. The corresponding forms include englantilainen (singular), englantilaiset (nominative plural), and englantilaisten (genitive plural).

Usage of englantilaisiin occurs when the action is directed toward English people or into the group of English people, and it is a standard inflectional form rather than a separate word with a fixed meaning. It is not used for referring to the English language; for that purpose Finnish typically uses englanniksi or other constructions.

Examples of use include sentences such as “Yhteistyö englantilaisiin tutkijoihin” (cooperation with English researchers) or “Olen matkustanut englantilaisiin kaupunkeihin” (I have traveled to English towns). These illustrate the illative plural’s role in indicating direction toward a group or place associated with England, rather than describing the language or a single English person.

Etymology: englantilainen is formed from Englanti (England) plus the suffix -lainen, which denotes a person from or associated with a place. The illative plural englantilaisiin combines this with the -iin suffix to mark the illative plural.

See also: englantilainen, illative case, Finnish noun declension.