taivutuvuutta

Taivutuvuutta, or inflectionability, is a linguistic concept describing whether a word can take inflectional endings in Finnish grammar. A taivuttava sana can participate in the Finnish inflection system, producing different forms through cases, numbers, tenses, moods, and other grammatical categories. An invariable word is one that does not inflect in typical contexts, such as certain interjections, fixed expressions, or some loanwords that remain indeclinable.

In practice, Finnish nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, and verbs all exhibit taivuttuvuutta. Nouns are highly inflectable, forming forms for numerous cases and numbers to express relations such as location, direction, possession, and plurality. Adjectives inflect to agree with the noun they modify in number and case, adding another layer of taivutus. Verbs inflect for person, number, tense, mood, and voice, creating diverse finite and non-finite forms.

The degree of taivuttuvuutta varies among words. Many have regular, predictable paradigms, while others show irregular forms or exceptions. For language learners, understanding taivuttuvuus helps in producing correct inflectional forms and in using dictionaries or morphological tools that list inflection patterns or full inflection tables.

Linguistic descriptions often analyze taivutus through noun declension classes, verb conjugation types, and adjective inflection rules, which together determine how a word changes form to express grammatical relationships. The concept is central to Finnish grammar and its rich inflectional system.