eimäärittelevän

Eimäärittelevän is a Finnish adjective that translates to "non-defining" or "non-restrictive" in English. It is used in grammar to describe clauses or phrases that provide additional, non-essential information about a noun or pronoun. These clauses do not limit or specify the meaning of the noun they modify, but rather offer extra details that could be removed without changing the core meaning of the sentence.

In Finnish grammar, non-defining clauses are often introduced by relative pronouns and are typically set off by commas. For example, in the sentence "Pekka, joka on lääkäri, asuu Helsingissä" (Pekka, who is a doctor, lives in Helsinki), the clause "joka on lääkäri" (who is a doctor) is a non-defining clause. It tells us more about Pekka, but if removed, the sentence "Pekka asuu Helsingissä" (Pekka lives in Helsinki) still conveys the essential information about Pekka's residence.

Contrast this with a defining or restrictive clause, which is essential for identifying the specific noun being referred to. For instance, in "Se talo, joka on punainen, myydään pian" (That house, which is red, will be sold soon), the clause "joka on punainen" (which is red) is defining because it distinguishes this particular red house from other houses. Without this clause, the sentence "Se talo myydään pian" (That house will be sold soon) would be ambiguous if there were multiple houses under consideration. Eimäärittelevän thus plays a crucial role in distinguishing between essential and supplementary information within a sentence structure.