vastauksiaan

Vastauksiaan is a Finnish inflected form of the noun vastaus (answer). It conveys possession by a third-person plural or, in some contexts, by a third-person singular, depending on the surrounding discourse. The form combines the partitive plural vastauksia (some or any of the answers) with the third-person possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä, indicating ownership by they/them. In practice, vastauksiaan is used to refer to “their answers” (or, less commonly, “his/her/its answers” when the possessor is understood from context). The precise owner is determined by the surrounding text.

Usage and function

Vastauksiaan appears when the speaker wants to emphasize that the answers belong to others and that the reference is in a partitive context. This often occurs in reporting, analysis, or descriptions where the quantity or detail of the answers is indefinite or contrasted with other information. The form remains partitive, even though the possession is explicit through the suffix.

Morphology and related forms

The base form for the plural owner is vastauksia, in the partitive plural. The possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä is added to mark ownership by a third person plural (they) or, in some contexts, by a singular owner inferred from context, yielding vastauksiaan. Related forms include vastaukset (nominative plural “the answers”), vastauksensa (his/her/its answer), and vastaukseni (my answer).

Examples

Tutkijat analysoivat vastauksiaan. (The researchers analyzed their answers.)

Haastattelussa vastaajat antoivat vastauksiaan. (In the interview, the respondents gave their answers.)

Heidän vastauksiaan kuunneltiin tarkasti. (Their answers were listened to carefully.)