Viedäksensä

Viedäksensä is a Finnish non-finite verb form used to express purpose in subordinate clauses. It is built from the verb viedä (to take or carry) with the infinitive-of-purpose suffix and the third-person reflexive possessive suffix -nsä, producing a form that conveys “in order for him/her/itself to take” or “so that he would take for himself.” The form is nonfinite and does not carry tense by itself; the clause’s subject is typically the same as the main clause’s subject.

Morphology and formation: The base part is the stem vie- from viedä. The inflectional marker -akseen (or its allomorphs) marks the infinitive of purpose, yielding a purpose-oriented nonfinite form. The final -nsä is the third-person reflexive possessive suffix, indicating a reflexive sense related to the subject of the main clause. The overall effect is a single word that ties a purposive action to the subject’s own interest or benefit.

Usage and register: viedäksensä is relatively rare in contemporary everyday Finnish and is most often encountered in literary, historical, or formal texts. In modern speech and writing, speakers more commonly use periphrastic constructions to express purpose, such as jotta hän voisi ottaa, or other subordinate clauses that convey the intended purpose without this specialized form.

Related forms: Finnish frequently uses other infinitive-of-purpose constructions, such as ostakseen (to buy in order to) and similar -akseen forms with different verbs. The reflexive possessive suffix -nsä can also appear with other nonfinite purpose forms to emphasize that the action benefits the subject.

See also: Finnish grammar, infinitive of purpose, itsensä/itsensä forms.