attribuuttinen

Attribuuttinen is a Finnish term used in linguistics and grammar to describe a modifier that directly accompanies a noun within a noun phrase. It denotes an attributive function, meaning the modifier limits or specifies the noun it describes, as opposed to a predicative use that occurs in a clause after a copula.

In Finnish grammar, attributive modifiers typically appear before the noun. Common examples are adjectives such as sininen talo (blue house), iso auto (big car) or vihreä paita (green shirt). The attributive modifier agrees with the noun in number and case, and Finnish adjectives inflect to match the noun they modify. The word attribuuttinen itself is formed from attribuutti (attribute) plus the suffix -nen, indicating relationship or qualification.

The attributive function is contrasted with predicative use, where an adjective describes the subject of a sentence after a linking verb, as in talo on vanha (the house is old). In that context, vanha is not attributive but predicative. Distinguishing attributive from predicative use helps in syntactic analysis, morphology, and language teaching, as well as in corpus annotation and natural language processing.

Beyond adjectives, other elements can function as attributive modifiers in Finnish, including possessive constructions and certain noun phrases, all of which can precede the head noun in the noun phrase. The term attribuuttinen thus serves as a key label in grammatical descriptions to denote this specific, noun-adjacent modifying role.