Yllätyksenä

Yllätyksenä is a Finnish essive form of the noun yllätys, meaning a surprise. It literally translates to "as a surprise" and is used to describe something that is perceived or presented in a surprising way. The word is common in both spoken and written Finnish and often appears in news, narratives, and everyday speech.

Grammatically, yllätyksenä is the essive case, formed with the suffix -næ/-nä attached to the noun stem. It expresses a temporary state or role, in this case that something is to be taken or understood as a surprise. It is typically used with verbs like tulla (to come), olla (to be), or appear in constructions such as "tuli yllätyksenä" (came as a surprise) or "se oli yllätyksenä minulle" (it was a surprise to me).

Usage notes and examples:

- Se tuli yllätyksenä koko tiimille. (It came as a surprise to the whole team.)

- Yllätyksenä oli hänen paluunsa. (His return was a surprise.)

- Tämä tieto tuli yllätyksenä minulle. (This information came as a surprise to me.)

In practice, yllätyksenä is a stable, neutral expression for indicating that something was not anticipated, and it can be used with a wide range of nouns and events. It is particularly common in recounting sequences, summaries, and formal statements where the speaker notes the unexpected nature of an occurrence.