potentiaalisten

Potentiaalisten is a Finnish grammatical form of the adjective potentiaalinen, meaning "potential." It is used when the adjective modifies a plural noun and the noun appears in a case that requires a genitive plural ending. In practice, potentiaalisten typically appears in phrases such as potentiaalisten sovellusten kehittäminen, which translates to "the development of potential applications," where sovellusten is the genitive plural of sovellus (application) and potentiaalisten agrees with it.

As a result, potentiaalisten is not a separate lexical item with its own meaning; it is the inflected form produced by standard rules for -inen adjectives in Finnish. The base form potentiaalinen is used for singular subjects and objects, while potentiaalisten serves to mark the genitive plural agreement in noun phrases.

Etymology and usage context: The Finnish word potentiaalinen derives from potentiaali (potential), itself borrowed into Finnish from Latin potentia, via historical influences such as Swedish or German scientific vocabulary. The -inen suffix is a productive ending in Finnish that forms adjectives from nouns or abstract bases, and it carries ordinary inflection for number and case.

See also: potentiaalinen, potentiaali, Finnish grammar, Finnish adjectives.