Tietojensa

Tietojensa is a Finnish grammatical form used to express possession of information by a third person plural subject, translated as "their information." It is most often encountered in phrases such as mukaan, meaning "according to their information." The form illustrates Finnish possessive and case systems, combining the base word for information with suffixes that indicate ownership and grammatical role.

Etymology and morphology: The root tieto means information or data. Finnish forms can attach possessive and case suffixes to indicate who owns the information and how it is used in a sentence. In the phrase tietojensa mukaan, the word conveys that the information being referred to belongs to a group of people or organizations. The construction is a typical example of how Finnish handles possession for plural subjects, producing a compound that may appear opaque to learners but is common in formal writing and reporting.

Usage: Tietojensa is primarily found in written Finnish, especially in contexts discussing data provenance, sources, or evidence. It often appears in journalism, scientific writing, and legal or policy discussions where information or data are attributed to a group rather than an individual. The adjacent word mukaan signals attribution, as in "according to their information." It is important to distinguish tietojensa from similar forms such as tietonsa (his/her information) or tietomme (our information), which indicate different possessors.

Examples:

- Heidän tietojensa mukaan tutkimus on kestänyt kaksi vuotta.

- Tietojensa mukaan palvelu kerää käyttäjätietoja, mutta niitä käsitellään anonymisoidusti.

Notes: Like many Finnish possessive constructions, tietojensa can be challenging for learners due to its reliance on context to identify the possessor and the exact case. It remains a standard expression in formal Finnish when describing information supplied by a group.