lauseenjäsenistä

Lauseenjäsenet, or sentence members, are the structural components that make up a Finnish sentence. Understanding them is crucial for comprehending Finnish grammar and sentence construction. The primary sentence members are the subject (subjekti) and the predicate (predikaatti). The subject typically indicates who or what performs the action or is in a certain state, while the predicate describes the action, state, or characteristic of the subject.

Beyond these core elements, Finnish sentences often include various complements and adjuncts. Complements (predikatiivit) provide additional information about the subject or object, often linked by a copular verb. Objects (objektit) are usually direct or indirect, receiving the action of the verb. Finnish distinguishes between the accusative object, which is often a direct object, and the genitive object, which can also function as a direct object, particularly with certain verbs or in specific grammatical constructions.

Adjuncts (adverbiaalit) provide circumstantial information, such as time, place, manner, or reason. These can be expressed by adverbs, adverbial phrases, or even entire clauses. Finnish sentence structure is relatively flexible, and the order of sentence members can vary for emphasis or stylistic reasons, though the subject-predicate order is common. The rich case system of Finnish allows for many of these sentence members to be expressed through noun inflection rather than relying solely on prepositions or word order.