Suuntaisiin

Suuntaisiin is a finite verb form in Finnish that derives from the verb suuntaa, meaning to head, direct, or orient. It is associated with the language’s mood and conjugation system and signals a hypothetical or conditional action. In contemporary standard Finnish, the commonly used conditional forms are suuntaisin (I would head), suuntaisit (you would head), suuntaisi (he/she would head), suuntaisimme (we would head), suuntaisitte (you all would head), and suuntaisivat (they would head). The form suuntaisiin is less common in everyday speech and is generally considered dialectal, archaic, or more literary. It may appear in older texts, regional speech, or stylistic variations to convey a conditional sense without a specific subject.

Grammatical role and usage patterns vary by era and region. In standard Finnish, speakers typically use the paradigm with -isin/-isit/-isi/-isimme/-isitte/-isivat for the conditional; suuntaisiin, when encountered, is often interpreted as a nonstandard or historical variant, or as a stylistic choice in certain literary contexts. The distinction between standard and nonstandard forms is more pronounced in formal writing and in formal language education, where the regular forms are preferred.

Etymologically, suuntaisiin can be described as a derivative of suuntaa built with a conditional or subjunctive-like suffix, aligning it with related verb forms that express hypothetical action. The form exists alongside other inflected variants of suuntaa and reflects Finnish’s rich modal and conditional expression. See also: suuntaa, suunta, suuntautua.