possessiivisuffikseissa

Possessive suffixes, or possessor endings, are a key feature of Finnish noun morphology. They attach directly to the possessed noun to indicate ownership, and they encode the possessor’s person and number. Finnish uses six basic forms corresponding to 1st person singular, 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, 1st person plural, 2nd person plural, and 3rd person plural. The suffixes typically come after any case ending, so a phrase like “in my house” becomes talossani (talo + -ssa + -ni).

Formation and usage

The possessive suffixes attach to the noun stem and may accompany other grammatical endings, particularly case endings. For example: taloni means “my house,” talosi means “your house,” and hänen talonsa means “his/her house.” The forms for plural possessors are used together with appropriate determiners (teidän, heidän, etc.) to express “your (plural)” or “their” ownership. When combined with a case ending, the structure is base + case ending + possessive suffix, as in talossani “in my house.”

Allomorphy and phonology

The suffixes show vowel harmony and other phonological adjustments. The third-person possessive suffix has two common allomorphs (often described as -sa/-sä), determined by the stem’s vowels. Other possessive endings are relatively stable but still harmonize with the surrounding vowels. These suffixes can be stacked with additional endings (e.g., inessive -ssa, elative -sta) to form phrases like talossani “in my house,” talontasi “to your house,” etc.

Historical and typological notes

Possessive suffixes developed from a combination of personal pronouns and genitive marking in Finnic languages and have become a standard, productive device in Finnish for signaling ownership within noun phrases. They interact with determiner phrases and are a hallmark of Finnish nominal morphology, with regional and stylistic variation mainly in usage rather than fundamental structure.