tyhjinä

Tyhjinä is a Finnish adjective form meaning “empty,” used specifically as the plural essive case of tyhjä. The essive expresses a temporary state or condition, so tyhjinä describes being in an empty state for multiple items. It is used with a plural subject and a copula such as olla (to be), to indicate how the items are at that moment.

In practice, tyhjinä appears in sentences like laatikot olivat tyhjinä, meaning “the boxes were empty.” The form agrees with the noun in number (plural) and case (essive). It is distinct from other related forms of tyhjä: tyhjänä is the singular essive (“as empty”), tyhjiä is the plural partitive used when the noun is in the partitive case (for example, tyhjiä pulloja – “empty bottles”), and tyhjiksi is the translative used to express becoming empty (“to become empty”).

Usage notes:

- Tyhjinä describes a temporary state of multiple items, typically after a copula such as olla.

- It should not be used for a single item in the singular; use tyhjänä instead.

- It contrasts with tyhjiä (partitive) and tyhjiksi (translative) forms, which convey different grammatical relations or nuances.

See also the broader Finnish grammar concepts: tyhjä (empty), essive case, partitive case, and translative case, as well as general rules for adjective inflection in Finnish.