Monikkohdellinen

Monikkohdellinen is a term used in Finnish linguistic literature to describe phenomena connected with plurality (monikko). The exact usage of the label varies between grammars, and it is not a single fixed category. Broadly, monikkohdellinen refers to how plural number is encoded in word forms and how it governs agreement with other words in a phrase or clause.

In Finnish, plurality is typically expressed through inflection on nouns (for example, talo → talot in nominative plural) and through concord with adjectives (isot talot; large houses). A monikkohdellinen perspective highlights these plural-marking processes and the way number interacts with syntactic structure, including how numerals and modifiers determine the form of the noun phrase. Because Finnish lacks an explicit definite article, the focus is on suffixal plural endings and on the agreement pattern between a noun and its modifiers.

Examples of plural forms illustrate the concept: talo becomes talot; iso talo becomes isot talot. The term is used mainly in analytical discussions of grammatical number and is common in typological comparisons of how languages encode plurality.

Notes: It is a descriptive label rather than a universal grammatical category; its exact scope depends on the author and the theoretical framework.

See also: grammatical number, Finnish grammar, morphology, agreement.