niittynsä

Niittynsä is a Finnish noun phrase meaning “one’s meadow” or “its meadow.” It is formed from the noun niitty (meadow) combined with the third-person possessive suffix -nsä, yielding niittynsä to indicate that the meadow belongs to he, she, or a previously mentioned entity.

Etymology and form: In Finnish, possessive suffixes attach to the noun to show ownership. The third-person possessive suffix appears as -nsa or -nsä, chosen according to vowel harmony with the stem. With niitty, which contains front vowels, the form is niittynsä. The phrase can function as a complete noun phrase in a sentence, often replacing a full possessive noun phrase once the possessor is clear from context.

Usage: Niittynsä is typically used in descriptive or narrative prose to refer to a specific meadow belonging to a person or entity previously identified. It helps avoid repeating a name by tying the location to the possessor. In writing, it can appear after a subject or in comparison constructions.

Examples:

- Hänen niittynsä on suurempi kuin naapurin niitty. (Her meadow is larger than the neighbor’s meadow.)

- Kylän laidalla hän muisteli, miltä niittynsä näytti keväällä.

See also: Finnish possessive suffixes, Finnish grammar, Finnish nouns.

Overall, niittynsä is a standard, neutral grammatical form used in Finnish to denote ownership of a meadow by a third party, extending naturalness and economy in descriptive text.