vuodenaikoissa

Vuodenaikoissa is a Finnish grammatical form used to refer to the seasons of the year in a collective sense. It is the inessive plural form of vuodenaika, a compound of vuosi (year) and aika (time). The expression is used when describing phenomena or activities that span more than one season or when referring to general seasonal patterns across the annual cycle. In everyday language, vuodenaikoissa helps convey how weather, daylight, and ecological processes change with the seasons.

Grammar and usage: The inessive case marks location with the meaning "in" or "inside," and the plural ending -issa indicates "in the seasons" rather than "in a season." Thus vuodenaikoissa literally means "in the seasons" (across multiple seasons). It is common in contexts such as climate research, agriculture, ecology, and cultural writing about the year. For example: "Kasvit reagoivat vuodenaikoissa tapahtuvaan valon ja lämpötilan muutokseen" (Plants respond to the changes in light and temperature that occur across the seasons) and "Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan vuodenaikoissa esiintyviä sään vaihteluita" (The study examines weather variations that occur across the seasons).

Relation to related terms: The singular vuodenaika refers to a single season, while vuodenaikoissa contrasts with mentioning one season at a time. The concept is also connected to phrases like vuotenaikojen vaihtelu (seasonal variation) and to discussions of climate, agriculture, and culture shaped by the yearly cycle.