Opiskelijalla

Opiskelijalla is the adessive singular form of the Finnish noun opiskelija, meaning “the student.” In Finnish grammar, the adessive case often marks location or possession, and with the verb olla (to have) it commonly expresses that someone has something. Thus, opiskeljalla is frequently used to indicate a possessor in sentences like “Opiskelijalla on kirja.”

Morphology and usage are straightforward: the stem opiskelija takes the adessive suffix -lla to form opiskelijalla. This form can appear in various contexts where a subject or possessor is expressed indirectly, especially in phrases describing what someone possesses or possesses at a given location.

Common uses include indicating possession: “Opiskelijalla on kirja” (The student has a book); describing what someone has or experiences: “Opiskelijalla on paljon tehtäviä” (The student has many assignments). It can also denote location in sentences that imply presence or relatedness to the student: “Keskustelu on opiskelijan kanssa” (The discussion is with the student), though in such cases the exact meaning depends on the surrounding verb and construction.

Notes for learners: opiskelljalla is a grammatical form not a separate word with a distinct meaning; its interpretation depends on context, most often aligning with possession in copular constructions or with location. Finnish word forms shift for number and case, so other cases of opiskelija follow their respective suffix patterns (e.g., opiskelijan in genitive, opiskelijaa in partitive).

See also: Finnish grammar, adessive case, possession construction with olla.