Määräisi

Määräisi is a Finnish verb form of määrätä, meaning to order, to determine, or to prescribe. It is the conditional mood in the third-person singular, corresponding to “he/she would order” or “he/she would determine.” The form is commonly used to express hypothetical actions or statements about what someone would do under certain conditions.

Grammatically, määräisi is formed from the verb stem määrä- with the conditional suffix -isi. In writing, määräisi is distinct from määrää and määräsi; the latter two express present and simple past tenses, respectively, while määräisi represents a mood rather than a tense. In usage, määräisi often appears in subordinate clauses introduced by jos or kun, describing what would happen if something occurred, or in indirect speech to soften a command.

Examples illustrate the conditional meaning. For instance: “Jos hallitus määräisi uuden lain, se vaikuttaisi kaikkiin.” (If the government were to enact a new law, it would affect everyone.) “Hän määräisi minut vastaamaan siitä, jos hänellä olisi valta.” (He would order me to take responsibility for it if he had the power.)

Translations of määräisi capture its hypothetical sense: would order, would determine, or would prescribe. The form is mainly found in written Finnish, formal prose, or hypothetical discussions, rather than in casual everyday speech.