Epäonnistuneena

Epäonnistuneena is a Finnish essive form of the adjective or past participle epäonnistunut, meaning “having failed” or “unsuccessful.” As an essive, epäonnistuneena is used to describe a temporary state of being, typically in relation to a person, role, or thing, and is often followed by a noun in the essive case (for example, yrittäjänä, projektipäällikkönä).

Etymology and grammar: The word comes from the verb epäonnistua (to fail). The past participle epäonnistunut yields the essive form epäonnistuneena with the suffix -na/Nä, which marks a state of being “as” or “in the capacity of.” This construction is common in Finnish and is characteristic of essive expressions that describe ongoing or temporary conditions, rather than permanent identities.

Usage: Epäonnistuneena is primarily used in formal or literary contexts, as well as journalistic writing, to evaluate outcomes or performances. It is typically attached to a noun in the same clause to indicate the role or state in which someone or something is perceived.

Examples:

- Hän toimi epäonnistuneena projektipäällikkönä. (He acted as an unsuccessful project manager.)

- Projekti jäi epäonnistuneena. (The project remained a failure.)

- Suoritus nähtiin epäonnistuneena, vaikka siihen panostettiin. (The performance was seen as unsuccessful, despite the effort.)

Relation to related terms: The noun epäonnistuminen refers to the act or occurrence of failing, while epäonnistuneena expresses the state of having failed in a particular context. The form is distinct from other essive endings and from the nominative form epäonnistunut, which typically describes a completed attribute rather than a temporary state.

See also: epäonnistuminen, epäonnistua, essive case.