Muutamille

Muutamille is a Finnish grammar term referring to the allative plural form of the quantifier muutama, meaning "to a few" or "for a few." It is used when a message, action, or resource is directed toward a small number of recipients or beneficiaries. The form is built from the base muutama with the allative plural suffix -ille, yielding a phrase that accompanies a following noun in the allative case, for example muutamille ihmisille (to a few people).

In practice, muutamille appears in contexts such as official communications, surveys, or instructions where it is important to indicate that only a small subset is targeted. Common sentences include: Kysely on suunnattu muutamille ihmisille (The survey is aimed at a few people) and Tiedotteet jaetaan muutamille ihmisille (The notices are distributed to a few people). The construction emphasizes a limited scope without specifying an exact number.

Register and alternatives: the use of muutamille tends to be more common in written or formal Finnish. In everyday spoken language, speakers may prefer phrases like pienelle joukolle or muutamalle ihmiselle, depending on number and noun, or use more general expressions such as usea/alle. understanding the precise number is often unnecessary in the context.

Etymology: muutama is a native Finnish quantifier meaning "a few." Muutamille is its allative plural form, aligning with other allative expressions to indicate direction or beneficiary toward a small group.