Vaikutelmalta

Vaikutelmalta is a Finnish grammatical form derived from the noun vaikutelma, meaning impression. In standard Finnish, the usual elative form of vaikutelma is vaikutelmasta, used to indicate origin “from the impression.” Vaikutelmalta, with the elative suffix -lta, is not a common or standard variant and is rarely encountered in modern everyday usage. It may appear in older texts, dialectal registers, or as a stylistic or typographical variant, but it is generally considered nonstandard.

In practice, mutta the form is more a matter of grammatical curiosity than a productive everyday construction. When writers wish to express that a judgment is based on appearance or initial impression, they typically use phrases like “vaikutelman mukaan” (according to the impression) or “vaikutelman perusteella” (based on the impression) rather than relying on the elative form of the noun. If vaikutelmalta appears, it is often part of a stylistic device to hedge a claim or to foreground the source of an impression in a way that emphasizes origin rather than content.

Example sentences (illustrative, though uncommon in modern usage):

- Vaikutelmalta ratkaisu kuulostaa toimivalta, mutta lisätestit ovat tarpeen.

- Vaikutelmalta hänen väitteensä vaikuttaa luotettavilta.

See also: vaikutelma, elative case, Finnish grammar.