Sotilaiden

Sotilaiden is the genitive plural form of the Finnish noun sotilas, meaning soldier. It denotes possession or relation to a group of soldiers and translates as “of the soldiers” or “the soldiers’” in English. In Finnish grammar, the genitive plural is formed by adding the suffix -iden to the stem, yielding sotilaiden from sotilas. The form is used to indicate belonging or association with soldiers and is placed before another noun to form a possessive noun phrase, such as sotilaiden varusteet (the soldiers’ equipment) or sotilaiden koulutus (the soldiers’ training).

Usage notes: Sotilaiden is not capitalized unless it starts a sentence or appears as part of a proper noun. It is a standard and common construction in written Finnish, including historical, military, and journalistic contexts, where possession or association with soldiers needs to be expressed.

Examples:

- Sotilaiden varusteet olivat valmiina lähtöön. (The soldiers’ equipment was ready for departure.)

- Sotilaiden määrä on vähentynyt viime vuosikymmeninä. (The number of soldiers has decreased in recent decades.)

- Sotilaiden kokemuksia kuvataan monissa muistelmissa. (The soldiers’ experiences are described in many memoirs.)

Etymology: Derived from sotilas (soldier) with the genitive plural suffix -iden, a standard Finnic form for indicating possession by a plural noun.