vanhempiensa

Vanhempiensa is a Finnish grammatical form meaning “their parents’” or “of their parents.” It functions as a possessive genitive construction, indicating possession or attribution by a third-person plural subject (they/them) in relation to the noun it attaches to. In everyday Finnish, the form is most commonly seen in phrases that refer to what belongs to or is determined by the parents of someone.

In practical terms, vanhempiensa is formed by combining the base referring to parents (vanhemmat) with the appropriate possessive and case endings to signal that the possessors are a third-person plural. The result is a compound that can modify a following noun, or appear in fixed phrases such as vanhempiensa mukaan (“according to their parents”) or vanhempiensa mielipide (“their parents’ opinion”).

Usage and examples:

- vanhempiensa talo means “their parents’ house.”

- vanhempiensa mukaan means “according to their parents.”

- vanhempiensa mielipide refers to “the opinion of their parents.”

The construction is standard in formal, written Finnish and is commonly used when clear indication of ownership by multiple people is needed. It can also appear in narrative and journalistic contexts, where it helps specify whose perspective or property is being discussed.

See also:

- Finnish possessive suffixes

- Genitive case in Finnish

- Possessive constructions in Finnish

Vanhempiensa thus functions as a precise, neutral way to express ownership by a group of people’s parents, fitting into the broader system of Finnish possessive grammar.