Essive in the Plural

Level 4

The essive plural is used to say 'as [plural nouns]' or to describe a state multiple things are in. It also marks specific recurring or past time periods (e.g., 'as children').

How It Works

The essive plural (monikon essiivi) has three main functions:

  • Role or Capacity: Expressing what multiple people or things are acting as. For example, työskentelemme myyjinä (we work as salespersons).
  • State: Describing a temporary condition during an action. It usually functions as an adverbial rather than a simple predicate. For example, he palasivat väsyneinä (they returned tired).
  • Time: Indicating a period of life or recurring times. For example, lapsina (as children).

Morphology:
1. Start with the plural stem (the same one used for plural local cases).
2. Ensure the stem is in the strong grade. Unlike the inessive (tytöissä - weak), the essive remains strong (tyttöinä).
3. Add -na or -nä based on vowel harmony.

Advanced Nuance (Level 4):

  • Hypothetical Advice: The essive plural of personal pronouns is used to express 'in someone's shoes'. For example, teinä (if I were you).
  • Pretending: The 'kvasirakenne' uses a participle in the essive plural with a possessive suffix to express feigning an action: olimme lukevinamme (we pretended to be reading).

Examples (5)

  1. He toimivat kokouksessa sihteereinä.

    They acted as secretaries in the meeting.

    Word by Word: They acted meeting-in secretaries-as.

    Here, the essive plural 'sihteereinä' indicates the professional role they held during the meeting.

  2. He palasivat matkalta väsyneinä.

    They returned from the trip tired.

    Word by Word: They returned trip-from tired-as.

    The essive plural functions as an adverbial here, describing the state the subjects were in while performing the action.

  3. Teinä minä en menisi sinne.

    If I were you (plural), I wouldn't go there.

    Word by Word: You-as I not would-go there.

    The essive plural of personal pronouns is used idiomatically to mean 'in your shoes' or 'if I were you'.

  4. Lapset olivat nukkuvinaan.

    The children pretended to be sleeping.

    Word by Word: Children were sleeping-as-their.

    This is the 'pretending' construction using the present participle in the essive plural + possessive suffix.

  5. Viime vuosina olemme matkustaneet paljon.

    In recent years, we have traveled a lot.

    Word by Word: Last years-in we-have traveled much.

    In time expressions, the essive plural is often translated as 'in' or 'during' in English.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the weak grade instead of the strong grade.

    Tytöinä me leikimme ulkona.
    Tyttöinä me leikimme ulkona.

    The essive case (both singular and plural) always requires the strong grade of the stem (tt, not t).

  • Using the essive when you mean 'became happy'.

    Different MeaningHe tulivat iloisina.
    He tulivat iloisiksi.

    'He tulivat iloisina' is fine, but it means 'They arrived happy.' Use the translative (-ksi) for becoming something: 'He tulivat iloisiksi' means 'They became happy.' The essive (-na) is for a state that already exists.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Essive in the PluralLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand the plural essive, you first need to be familiar with the basic essive case and its functions. You also need to know how to form the plural stem using the -i- marker, as the essive ending is attached to this stem. Finally, vowel harmony is required to choose the correct version of the suffix.

Words in This Pattern

-na-nä-i-