Family reunions often involve differing versions of the same old stories. To express your perspective, memory, or level of certainty without sounding absolute, Finnish uses fixed "viewpoint infinitives."
You create these by taking the dictionary form (1st infinitive) of certain cognitive verbs, adding -kse- (the translative ending -ksi changes before a possessive suffix), and attaching a possessive suffix like the first-person singular -ni ("I"). These expressions act as sentence adverbs, typically placed at the beginning of a clause.
As Far As I Know (tietääkseni)
Starting with the verb tietää (to know), you form tietääkseni.
| As far as I know, we are not arguing about this family story. | Tietääkseni me emme kiistele tästä sukutarinasta. |
| As far as I know, the mix-up is not huge. | Tietääkseni sekaannus ei ole valtava. |
As Far As I Remember (muistaakseni)
From muistaa (to remember), we get muistaakseni. Use this when recounting past events that might be open to dispute.
| As far as I remember, you remember the incident incorrectly. | Muistaakseni sinä muistat tapauksen väärin. |
| As far as I remember, uncle colors these family stories a lot. | Muistaakseni setä värittää näitä sukutarinoita paljon. |
As I Understand It (ymmärtääkseni)
The verb ymmärtää (to understand) becomes ymmärtääkseni. This is helpful for stating your grasp of a complicated situation.
| As I understand it, that family story is not truthful. | Ymmärtääkseni tuo sukutarina ei ole totuudenmukainen. |
| As I understand it, grandma remembers the details incorrectly. | Ymmärtääkseni isoäiti muistaa yksityiskohdat väärin. |
I Suppose (luullakseni)
Luulla (to suppose, to believe) gives us luullakseni, expressing an assumption or a guess rather than a known fact.
| I suppose they are talking about the old mix-up. | Luullakseni he puhuvat vanhasta sekaannuksesta. |
| I suppose this family story will still become a problem. | Luullakseni tästä sukutarinasta tulee vielä ongelma. |
As I See It (nähdäkseni)
Finally, nähdä (to see) forms nähdäkseni. It is most often used metaphorically to mean "from my perspective" or "in my opinion."
| As I see it, this is a very truthful family story. | Nähdäkseni tämä on hyvin totuudenmukainen sukutarina. |
| As I see it, he colored the story so that it would not be boring. | Nähdäkseni hän väritti tarinaa, jottei se olisi tylsä. |