sukulaisilla

Sukulaisilla is a Finnish grammatical form meaning “with the relatives” or “at the relatives’ place.” It is not a separate lexical item but the adessive plural form of the noun sukulainen, which means relative or family member. The form is created by taking the plural stem sukulaiset and adding the adessive suffix -illa, yielding sukulaisilla.

In usage, the adessive -lla/-illä expresses location or accompanying circumstances. Therefore sukulaisilla is used when speaking about being with relatives or located at their place. Common contexts include visits, gatherings, or events among family members. For example, one might say: Kävin sukulaisilla viikonloppuna (I visited the relatives’ place last weekend), or Sukulaisilla on tapana kokoontua jouluna (Relatives tend to gather at Christmas).

Sukulaisilla contrasts with other forms of the same noun: sukulaiset refers to relatives as a group in the nominative plural, sukulaisille to the allative meaning “to/for the relatives,” and sukulaisen/genitive forms used differently in possessive constructions. The adessive form emphasizes location or company rather than possession or direct object.

Overall, sukulaisilla functions as a common grammatical tool in Finnish to indicate being with relatives or being at a relative’s location, reflecting the language’s rich case system and its practical use in everyday talk about family and social life.