Määränä

Määränä is the essive form of the Finnish noun määrä, meaning quantity or amount. In Finnish grammar, the essive case marks a temporary state, role, or function, and is often translated into English as "as" or "in the capacity of." When the noun määrä takes the essive ending, it yields määränä, which expresses that something is being described or used as a quantity or measure rather than as a permanent attribute.

Formation and usage

The essive form is created by adding the ending -nä/ -nä to the noun in its base form, here resulting in määränä. This construction is common in formal, technical, administrative, and scientific language, where quantities or measures are described as a role or state of affairs. The essive can introduce a comparison or a way of describing how something is considered within a given context.

Examples

- Vesimääränä käytettiin 5 litraa vettä. (As the amount of water, 5 liters were used.)

- Hankkeen hinnan määränä asetettiin 1000 euroa. (As the amount, a price of 1000 euros was set.)

Relation to other forms

Määränä contrasts with other Finnish cases that express quantity directly (such as the partitive or genitive). The essive emphasizes the conceptual role of the quantity in the described situation, rather than merely denoting how much there is.

See also

Finnish grammar, essive case, määrä (quantity)

Note

Usage of määränä tends to be more common in written and technical contexts. In everyday speech, speakers may prefer simpler constructions or other case forms depending on the specific meaning.