Suppletiivisistä

Suppletiivisistä is a Finnish grammatical term referring to words that form their grammatical forms from different stems. This phenomenon is most commonly observed in the formation of superlatives and comparatives of adjectives and adverbs, where the superlative or comparative form might be derived from a completely different root word than the positive form.

A well-known example in Finnish is the adjective "hyvä," meaning "good." Its comparative form is "parempi" (better), and its superlative is "paras" (best). Neither "parempi" nor "paras" are derived from the stem of "hyvä." This contrasts with many other adjectives where the comparative and superlative are formed by adding suffixes to the positive stem. For instance, "kaunis" (beautiful) becomes "kauniimpi" (more beautiful) and "kaunein" (most beautiful).

Suppletiivisistä formations are not limited to comparatives and superlatives. Some personal pronouns also exhibit suppletion. For example, the first-person singular nominative pronoun is "minä" (I), but its possessive form is "minun" (my), and the object form is "minut" (me). While these are not as starkly different as the "hyvä" example, they represent a related concept of irregular or suppletive forms.

The presence of suppletiivisistä words is a characteristic feature of Finnish grammar and other Finnic languages. Understanding these irregular forms is crucial for accurate Finnish language acquisition and for a deeper comprehension of its grammatical structure. They represent historical developments and sound changes within the language family.