eläintensä

**eläintensä** refers to the possessive form of the Finnish word *eläin*, meaning "animal." In Finnish grammar, possessive forms are used to indicate ownership or association, and they vary based on the noun's case and number. The term *eläintensä* specifically denotes "its animal(s)" or "his/her/their animal(s)," depending on the context of the sentence.

In Finnish, possessive pronouns are often attached to nouns to show possession. For example, *eläintensä* is derived from the genitive case of *eläin* combined with the possessive suffix *-nsä*, which is a contraction of *-nsä* (from *-n* + *-sä*). This suffix is used for third-person singular and plural possessive forms, such as *kotiinsa* ("to its/their home") or *kirjansa* ("its/their book").

The use of *eläintensä* reflects Finnish grammar's agglutinative nature, where suffixes are added to words to convey grammatical relationships. Possessive forms like this are common in everyday speech and writing, helping to clarify ownership or relationship without relying on separate possessive pronouns like "his" or "her" in English.

For example:

- *Koira on eläintensä omistajan kanssa.* ("The dog is with its owner.")

- *Heidän eläintensä ovat terveitä.* ("Their animals are healthy.")

Understanding possessive forms like *eläintensä* is essential for mastering Finnish grammar, as they play a key role in sentence structure and clarity.