lahjalla

Lahjalla is the adessive singular form of the Finnish noun lahja, meaning a gift or present. In Finnish grammar the adessive case is often used to indicate means or instrument, attaching the sense of “with” or “by means of” to the noun. When lahja is inflected as lahjalla, it can function as a means or presence of a gift in a sentence, or, in some contexts, reference a gift functioning in the situation described.

In addition to its instrumental use, lahjalla can appear in phrases that convey the idea of something being given or used as a gift. Finnish expresses the concept “as a gift” through other forms such as lahjana or lahjaksi, which are the essive and translative variants, respectively. These forms are used when the gift is being described as the role or purpose of something, rather than simply as the means by which an action is performed.

The word lahja itself derives from Finnish roots common to the language’s noun-formation patterns and participates in the regular inflection system of case endings. Lahjalla sits within the wide family of adessive forms that denote instrument, means, or accompaniment, and it contrasts with other case forms of lahja used for different grammatical purposes.

See also: Finnish grammar, adessive case, essive case, translative case, lahja (gift).