Essiivivormi

Essiivivormi, or the essive form, is a grammatical form in Finnish used to express a temporary state or a role—essentially translating to “as” or “in the capacity of.” It is one of the Finnish case forms applied to nouns (and some adjectives) in predicative or descriptive contexts to indicate how something exists or functions at a given time, rather than a permanent attribute.

In singular, the essive is formed by adding the suffix -na or -nä to the stem, with the choice depending on vowel harmony. For example, opettaja becomes opettajana (as a teacher), and opiskelija becomes opiskelijana (as a student). In plural, the essive uses -ina or -inä, as in opettajina (as teachers) and opiskelijoina (as students). The -na/-nä and -ina/-inä endings reflect the normal harmony rules of Finnish vowels, but the basic idea is that the suffix marks a temporary role or state rather than a fixed identity.

Usage notes: The essive is commonly used with the verb olla (to be) or verbs of functioning, to describe someone or something’s role or state in a particular situation, for example, Hän toimii opettajana koulussa (He works as a teacher at the school) or Hän on nuorena iloinen (He is happy when young). For indicating becoming or a change of state, Finnish typically uses the translative form -ksi (e.g., opettajaksi). The essive is distinct from nominal or translative forms and is especially frequent in occupational titles, roles, and time-bound expressions such as nuorena (in youth).