pluralisessiivin

Pluralisessiivin, or the plural essive, is a grammatical case in Finnish that marks being in a temporary state or role for multiple entities. It corresponds to the English expression “as X” or “in the capacity of X” when referring to more than one person or thing. The plural essive is used to indicate that several participants share a role or identity in a given context, often in descriptive or narrative text.

Morphology and formation: The plural essive is formed with the suffix -ina/-inä attached to the base form of the noun. The choice between -ina and -inä follows Finnish vowel harmony, so the exact variant is determined by the stem’s vowels. Common examples include opettajina (as teachers) and vanhempina (as parents). The plural essive differs from the singular essive, which uses -ana/-änä (for example, opettajana, “as a teacher”). The plural form does not add an explicit plural marker like -t; rather, the -ina/-inä suffix itself encodes the plural essive meaning.

Function and usage: The plural essive expresses a role or state for multiple subjects, often in conjunction with verbs such as olla (to be) or toimia (to act as). It is relatively common in written Finnish, in descriptive passages, and in expressions that enumerate roles. Example sentences would convey “they act as teachers” with the form toimivat opettajina, or “in their roles as parents” with vanhempina.

Relation to other forms: The plural essive contrasts with the translative and other cases by primarily signaling ongoing state or function rather than a change of state. It is one of several case forms used to articulate roles and identities in Finnish, with the singular essive serving a corresponding function for single entities.