monikkomuodoihin

Monikkomuodoihin is a term used in Finnish grammar to refer to the plural inflection of words and the forms that express plurality across different grammatical cases. The concept is central to understanding how nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and some numerals change when describing more than one item or concept.

In Finnish, plurality is marked in conjunction with case endings. The nominative plural form of a noun often ends in -t (for example, talot for “houses”). The genitive plural, which marks possession or “of the houses,” is talojen. Other cases have their plural forms as well: inessive plural expresses “in the houses” (taloissa), illative plural expresses “into the houses” (taloihin), and allative plural expresses “onto the houses” (taloille). Adjectives agree with nouns in number, so they also appear in plural forms (e.g., pienet talot, “small houses”). Phonological adjustments, such as vowel harmony and consonant gradation, may accompany these inflected forms in some words.

The phrase monikkomuodoihin is commonly used in linguistic descriptions, dictionaries, and language-learning resources to discuss how a word changes when it is used in a plural and in various cases. It is part of broader discussions of number and case systems in Finnish and in comparative grammar, where plural forms are contrasted with singular forms and with other number categories found in different languages.

See also Finnish grammar, plural, case system, noun inflection.