äskettäisten

äskettäisten is the genitive plural form of the Finnish adjective äskettäinen, meaning “recent.” It is used when describing a plural noun that is in the genitive case, for example äskettäisten tapahtumien, “the consequences of the recent events.” In this construction the adjective agrees with the noun in number and case, while the noun itself bears the genitive ending.

In practice, äskettäisten is commonly found in formal or written Finnish, such as journalism, reports, and academic writing. Common phrases include äskettäisten tapahtumien seuraukset (the consequences of the recent events) and äskettäisten tutkimusten tulokset (the results of the recent studies). The form serves to explicitly reference events, statements, or items that have occurred or been mentioned recently.

Distinctions with related forms are notable. äskettäiset, the nominative plural, would describe “the recent ones” as a subject or object, but when the noun is in genitive, the adjective takes the genitive plural form äskettäisten. The adverb äskettäin means “recently” and is not interchangeable with the adjective form. Correct use depends on the syntactic role of the noun phrase within the sentence.

Overall, äskettäisten is a niche but standard inflection in Finnish grammar, illustrating how adjectives in -inen decline to match case and number when modifying plural nouns in genitive.