kirjoittajina

Kirjoittajina is the plural essive form of the Finnish noun kirjoittaja (writer), used to indicate the role or state of being writers in a given context. In Finnish grammar, the essive case expresses being in a certain role or condition, roughly equivalent to “as” in English. Therefore, kirjoittajina translates to “as writers” and is typically used when referring to a group of people who are acting in the capacity of writers in a project or situation.

Morphology and usage notes

The singular essive form is kirjoittajana (as a writer), while the plural essive form is kirjoittajina (as writers). These forms are used with verbs of position or function, such as toimia (to act as) or osallistua (to participate as). For example: Projektissa ryhmä toimi kirjoittajina. (In the project, the group acted as writers.) Henkilöt voivat olla kirjoittajina eri osissa tekstin tuottamista. (People can participate as writers in different parts of text production.)

Context and functions

Kirjoittajina is common in discussions about collaborative writing, publishing teams, and interdisciplinary projects where multiple people share the role of writer. It can emphasize a temporary or contextual state rather than a permanent profession. The phrase may also appear in biographical or descriptive notes to indicate someone’s role at a specific time or in a particular work.

Related terms

Related forms include kirjoittaja (writer) in the nominative and kirjoittajana (singular) or kirjoittajina (plural) in the essive. The concept is part of Finnish case systems that express role, profession, or state, distinct from the translative form kirjoittajaksi (to become a writer).

See also: kirjoittaja, essive case, Finnish grammar, translative case.