Rajoittavasta

Rajoittavasta is a Finnish grammatical form of the present active participle raajoittava, derived from the verb rajoittaa meaning to restrict. In Finnish grammar, rajoittava can function as an adjective describing a noun, indicating that it limits or narrows in some way. The participle inflects like an adjective, and the form raajoittavasta is the elative singular, used with a noun in the elative case (for example, rajoittavasta lauseesta “from the restricting clause”).

In linguistic description, rajoittava is often used to label a kind of relative clause called raajoittava sivulause, i.e., a restrictive clause that specifies essential information about the referent. Such clauses contrast with non-rajoittava (non-restrictive) or lisäkettä tutto information clauses that add non-essential detail. The adjective can appear in various cases to agree with the noun it modifies, for example rajoittavan sivulauseen (genitive singular), rajoittavasta sivulauseesta (elative singular), or rajoittavaa lausetta (partitive or object form depending on the sentence).

Examples:

- Lause sisältää rajoittavan sivulauseen, joka määrittelee henkilön. (The sentence contains a restrictive relative clause that defines the person.)

- Raajoittavan sivulauseen poistaminen muuttaa merkityksen. (Removing the restricting relative clause changes the meaning.)

- Se käytetään raajoittavan lauseen tarkoitukseen. (It serves the purpose of the restricting clause.)

Rajoittava/rajoittava is therefore a descriptive label in Finnish grammar for forms and constructions that limit meaning, most often applied to clauses in the context of relative clauses. The elative form rajoittavasta appears in phrases indicating origin or source of the restricting element. See also Finnish relative clauses, participles, and grammatical mood.