Paikkojaan

Paikkojaan is a Finnish inflected form of the noun paikka, meaning “places.” It functions as a possessive construction that signals ownership by a third person (he/she/it) and is commonly translated as “his/her/its places.” The form typically appears when referring to multiple places that belong to someone or something else, and it can be used in both literal and figurative contexts.

Morphology and formation: The base word paikka means place. Its plural partitive form is paikkoja, used with verbs and expressions that require a partitive object. To indicate possession by a third person, Finnish adds the possessive suffix -nsa (or -nsä, depending on vowel harmony) to the noun phrase. When combined with the partitive plural, this yields a fused form such as paikkojaan, which indicates “their/his/her places” in a context where the object is unspecified or partitive in sense. The exact spelling follows standard Finnish vowel harmony rules.

Usage and nuance: Paikkojaan is used when the discourse centers on places belonging to someone or something else. It can refer to physical locations (seats, positions, sites) or to more figurative “places” in social, organizational, or metaphorical senses. It is common in written and spoken Finnish, particularly in narratives, descriptions, or discussions of ownership and allocation of space.

Examples:

- Jokaisella on paikkojaan. (Everyone has their own places.)

- On tärkeää kunnioittaa toisten paikkojaan. (It is important to respect other people’s places.)

See also: Finnish grammar, possessive suffixes, partitive case.