Sääntöihin

Sääntöihin is the illative plural form of the Finnish noun sääntö, meaning “to the rules” or “into the rules.” In Finnish, the illative case marks movement into something or reference to a set of items, and the plural form indicates multiple rules. The usage generally appears with verbs that take the illative, such as tutustua (to become acquainted with), perehtyä (to study), or viitata (to refer to).

Grammatical notes: The base form sääntö refers to a rule or regulation. Its plural nominative is säännöt. The illative plural is formed by adding the suffix -iin (often rendered as -iin/-ihin depending on vowel harmony), yielding sääntöihin. Other common forms include genitive sääntöjen and partitive sääntöjä.

Examples: Opiskelijat tutustuvat sääntöihin ennen kokeita. Juristit viittasivat sääntöihin tuomioistuimessa. Tutkimuksessa käsiteltiin sääntöihin liittyviä käytäntöjä. These illustrate how sääntöihin is used with verbs of acquaintance, reference, and relation to a set of guidelines.

Usage context: Sääntöihin appears in educational, administrative, and legal texts when referring to multiple rules or to a discussion of the rules themselves. It is distinct from the nominative sääntö (singular rule) and other cases, and its illative plural form helps convey direction toward or engagement with the rules.