Tahtonsa

Tahtonsa is a Finnish grammatical form meaning “one’s own will” or “his/her own will.” It is formed from the noun tahto, meaning will or desire, plus the third-person singular possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä. The result, tahtonsa, expresses ownership by a third person and is used to emphasize that the will belongs to that person.

Morphology and use

In Finnish, possessive suffixes attach to the end of a noun. Tahtonsa specifically marks that the will being referred to belongs to someone other than the speaker, typically in reference to a person already identified in the sentence (for example, hän, the pronoun for he/she). The form is neutral in themselves, but it gains emphasis through the possessive construction and can carry evaluative or literary nuance when used in discourse.

Common meanings and translations

- His/her own will

- A person’s will or desires, as opposed to someone else’s

In English, the exact translation depends on context, but the core idea is ownership of will by a third person.

Examples

- Hänen tahtonsa oli lähteä. — His/her will was to leave.

- Hän toimi tahtonsa mukaan. — He acted according to his own will.

- Se ei kunnioittanut hänen tahtonsa. — It did not respect his will.

Notes

Tahtonsa is most natural in formal or literary Finnish and is frequently used in discussions of agency, autonomy, or personal decision-making. It can be contrasted with tahto (the will in general) or with other possessive forms when specifying whose will is being discussed.

See also

Tahto

Omistusmuodot (Finnish possessive suffixation)