eitä

Eitä is a form that appears in Finnish grammar rather than a standalone lexical item. In practice, "eitä" is the final segment of the plural partitive form of the personal pronoun "he" (they), as in the word "heitä," which means “them” in the partitive case. Because it is a grammatical ending rather than a separate word, eitä does not function independently outside of its role in words like heitä.

Usage and examples

In ordinary sentences, Finnish uses the partitive case for indefinite objects or objects that are not fully bounded. The pronoun form "heitä" is commonly encountered in such contexts. Examples include: "Näen heitä" (I see them) and "Täällä on heitä" (There are them here). The same ending appears in other pronoun forms and in some constructions where partitive plurality is required.

Grammar and function

The partitive plural marked by -itä/-itä (as in heitä) indicates indefiniteness or a partial amount, and it is often used with verbs that require the partitive object. The ending is one of several patternings Finnish uses to mark plural partitive across different word classes, particularly pronouns. Because eitä is not a free-standing word, its interpretation depends entirely on its role within the word it forms.

Related terms

Key related concepts include the Finnish pronouns (he, hän, heitä), the partitive case, and the broader system of Finnish noun and pronoun inflection. Learners typically encounter eitä through practice with sentences featuring remnants like heitä rather than as an independent item.

Notes

As a grammatical ending, eitä is language-specific to Finnish and Greek through its Finnic roots; it does not translate as a standalone English word.