Määritellsanoja

Määritellsanoja, a Finnish linguistic term, refers to words that specify or clarify the meaning of another word. These words function as modifiers, providing additional information about the noun, pronoun, or adjective they are attached to. In essence, they are words that define or limit the scope of another word's meaning.

The most common category of määritellsanoja includes determiners. Determiners like articles (though Finnish lacks direct equivalents of "a" or "the"), demonstratives (e.g., tämä, tuo, se - this, that, it), possessives (e.g., minun, sinun, hänen - my, your, his/her), and quantifiers (e.g., kaikki, monet, muutama - all, many, few) all fall under this umbrella. These words precede the noun and indicate its definiteness, possession, or quantity.

Beyond determiners, other types of words can also act as määritellsanoja. Adjectives, when used attributively (directly before the noun they modify), serve to describe the qualities of that noun, thereby specifying it. For instance, in "kaunis talo" (beautiful house), "kaunis" (beautiful) is a määritellsana that specifies which kind of house is being referred to. Similarly, participles can function in this capacity, describing an action related to the noun. The concept is broad and encompasses any word that narrows down or provides specific characteristics about another element within a sentence.