likaantuneita

Likaantuneita is a Finnish adjective form used to describe things that have become dirty or soiled. It is the partitive plural form of the past participle likaantunut, which comes from the noun lika meaning dirt and the verb likaantua, "to become dirty." The word is commonly used when the modified noun is in the partitive case, indicating an indefinite quantity or mass.

In practice, likaantuneita appears with plural nouns in the partitive, for example: lattialla oli likaantuneita vaatteita (there were dirty clothes on the floor) or retken jälkeen repussa oli likaantuneita papereita (after the excursion, the backpack contained dirty papers). The form signals the state of the objects rather than their movement or origin.

Grammar and usage notes: Finnish adjectives agree with the noun they modify in number and case, so likaantuneita is used with plural nouns in the partitive. For definite or countable nouns in other cases, other inflected forms of the participle can be used, such as likaantuneet (nominative plural) or tied to the noun’s case accordingly. The word carries a neutral descriptive tone, indicating cleanliness rather than moral judgment.

See also:

- likaantua (to become dirty)

- likaantunut (dirty, past participle)

- likainen (dirty, common adjective)

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