Mainintaa

Mainintaa is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun maininta, which means "mention" or "note." In Finnish grammar, maininta denotes a remark or reference within a text. The form mainintaa appears when the noun is used with the partitive case, for example in constructions that describe an amount or presence of a mention rather than a specific count.

Etymology and usage: Maininta is derived from the verb mainita, "to mention." The noun refers to the act or instance of mentioning something, such as a source, detail, or remark. The partitive form mainintaa is common in sentences that discuss the quantity or sufficiency of mentions, especially in evaluative or descriptive writing. Plural forms include maininnat (mentions).

Examples: In everyday Finnish, you might see sentences like "Tässä artikkelissa on vain vähän mainintaa lähteestä," meaning "There is only a small amount of mention of the source in this article." Another example: "Palautteessa ei ollut mainintaa epäselvyyksistä," meaning "The feedback contained no mention of the ambiguities." In academic writing, mainintaa can be used to talk about the presence or absence of citations or remarks within a body of work.

Relation to related terms: Maininta contrasts with more explicit terms such as viittaus (reference) or sitaatti (quote), though all can function similarly in describing how sources or remarks are treated in text. Mainintaa is primarily a grammatical form rather than a distinct field of study, and is most relevant to Finnish-language grammar and textual analysis. See also Finnish grammar, noun inflection, mainita.