List of Finnish cases
Note regarding the examples: Finnish has noGrammatical cases
The grammatical cases perform core linguistic functions such as signaling who initiates an action or the object of an action.Nominative
The basic form of the noun. :Characteristic ending: none in the singular : = 'a/the house' : = 'a/the book' : = 'a/the hill' : = '(the) water'Genitive
Characteristic ending: possibly modified by consonant gradation: . For the nouns and adjectives that have two vowel stems, the weak vowel stem comes from the genitive singular. :The genitive indicates possession. It is also used precedingAccusative
This case marks direct objects. The accusative indicatesPartitive
Characteristic ending: -ta/-tä, where the 't' elides if intervocalic. The consonant stem of a noun (if any) comes from the partitive singular. Otherwise the ending is added to the strong vowel stem. :The basic meaning of this case is a lack ofLocative cases
The most prototypical function of locative cases is to indicate location, as the name suggests. However, they are also used in a range of syntactic constructions, much like prepositions in Indo-European languages (e.g. ''We're *at* school'' vs. ''We're good *at* math'', in which only the first ''at'' has a locative meaning). In Finnish, the suffix ''-lla'' as a locative means "on (top)", but may function to code the idea of "being used as an instrument", e.g. ''kirjoitan kynällä'' "I write with a pen" (lit. 'I write pen-on'). Two different kinds of suffixes are used, the internal locatives (''-s-'') and the external locatives (''-l-''). The word in a locative case refers to the verb, for example, in ''Sovitan housuja ikkunassa'' the word ''ikkunassa'' "in the window" refers to the verb ''sovitan'' "I try on", not to the adjacent noun ''housuja'' "pants". The sentence reads out as "I'm in the window, trying on pants". However, in context due to the instrumental nature of the window and the word order, the sentence stands for "I'm trying on pants (on display) in the window".Internal locatives
Inessive
Characteristic ending -ssa/-ssä added to the weak vowel stem. :The first of the six so-called "local" cases, which as their basic meaning correspond to locational prepositions in English. The inessive carries the basic meaning "inside" or "in" :* "talo'', ''ssa" = "in the house" :It is also commonplace to indicate time or immediate contact with the inessive :* "joulukuu'', ''ssa" = "in December" :* "joulukuuse'', ''ssa" = "on the Christmas tree"Elative
Characteristic ending -sta/-stä added to the weak vowel stem. :The second of the local cases, with the basic meaning of "coming out from inside" or "out of" :* "tuli talo'', ''sta" = "(he) came out of the house" :Like the inessive, the elative can also be used to indicate time or immediate contact. Can also indicate origin or cause. :* "viime joulu'', ''sta lähtien" = "since last Christmas" :* "nouse sängy'', ''stä" = "get out of the bed" :* "tehty villa'', ''sta" = "made of wool" :* "vihreänä kateude'', ''sta" = "green with envy"Illative
The ending is usually ''-Vn'', where ''V'' indicates the preceding vowel of the stem. Singular forms use the strong stem form. In cases where the genitive stem already ends in a long vowel the ending is ''-seen'' (singular) and ''-siin'' (plural). However, for words of one syllable the ending is always ''-hVn'' and this form is also used in plural forms where the plural stem already contains a vowel (other than ''i'' ) immediately before the plural ''i''. :Some dialects, such as Pohjanmaa, use the ''-hVn'' more generally. :This is the third of the local cases, with the basic meaning "into" :* "meni talo'', ''on" = "(he) went into the house" ''- regular formation from'' talo -Vn :* "vete'', ''en" = into the water" ''- regular formation from'' vesi, ''strong singular stem vete-'' -Vn :* "vesi'', ''in" = into the waters" ''- regular formation from'' vesi, ''plural stem vesi-'' -Vn :* "kuu'', ''hun" = "to the moon" - ''single syllable variation'' -hVn :* "Lontoo'', ''seen" = "to London" - ''long vowel stem variation from'' Lontoo ''(London)'' -seen :* "kaunii'', ''seen talo'', ''on" ="into the beautiful house" -''kaunis has singular stem'' -kaunii- therefore -seen variation :* "kaunii'', ''siin taloi'', ''hin" ="into the beautiful houses" - ''plural'' -siin because of singular -seen ''and plural'' -hVn ''due to the additional vowel'' i ''in the plural stem "taloi"'' :The illative can also indicate close contact, time or cause :* "huomise'', ''en" = "until tomorrow" (from ''huominen'') :* "kevää'', ''seen" = "until spring" (from ''kevät'') :* "kylmä'', ''än voi kuolla" = "one can die of cold" :* "syy jo'', ''hon'', ''kin" = "the reason for, the cause of something"External locatives
Adessive
Characteristic ending -lla/-llä added to the weak vowel stem. :The fourth of the local cases, with the basic meaning 'on top of' or 'in close proximity of' :* "mäe'', ''llä" = "on the hill" :* "ove'', ''lla" = "at the door" :Adessive is also used with the verb 'olla' to indicate possession :* "minu'', ''lla on kirja" = "I have a book" :It can also indicate time, instrument, means or way :* "aamu'', ''lla" = "in the morning" :* "talve'', ''lla" = "in the winter" (but note "viime talve'', ''na" = "last winter") :* "bussi'', ''lla" = "by bus" :* "vasara'', ''lla" = "with a hammer" :* "kävellä varpa'', ''i'', ''lla'', ''an" = "to walk on tiptoe/ on one's toes" :The adessive is very commonly used in a way that is equivalent to the Swedish preposition "med" (or English "with"), but this is traditionally deprecated as ungrammatical :* "emme tiedä varmuude'', ''lla" = "we do not know with certainty" (cf. Swedish "med säkerhet") :* "rakkaude'', ''lla" = "with love" (as a letter closing or greeting) :* "lettuja hillo'', ''lla" = "pancakes with jam"Ablative
Characteristic ending -lta/-ltä added to the weak vowel stem. :The fifth of the local cases, with the basic meaning "from off of" - a poor English equivalent, but necessary to distinguish it from "from out of", which would be elative. :* "mäe'', ''ltä" = "from (off) the hill" :* "nousin sohva'', ''lta" = "(I) got up from the sofa" :* "Liisa sai kirjan minu'', ''lta" = "Liisa got the book from me" :The ablative can also indicate time and it can be used to convey information about qualities :* "kahdeksa'', ''lta" = "at eight (o'clock)" :* "hän on ulkonäö'', ''ltä'', ''än miellyttävä" = (freely:) "she has a pleasant appearance"Allative
Characteristic ending -lle added to the weak vowel stem. :The sixth of the local cases, with the basic meaning "onto". :* "mäe'', ''lle" = "onto the hill" :Another meaning is "to someone" or "for someone" (the grammatical role served by the"General locatives" and other cases
The name "general locatives" is sometimes used of the essive and translative cases (as well as partitive above) because their oldest meanings imply that they have been used to indicate location.Essive
Characteristic ending -na. If the noun or adjective has two vowel stems, the strong vowel stem comes from the essive singular. NB the consonant stem used to be quite common in the essive, and some nouns and adjectives still have this feature. :This case sometimes carries the meaning of a temporary state of being, often equivalent to the English "as a ...", or of something being expressed in terms of another thing :* "lapse'', ''na" = "as a child", "when (I) was a child" :* "vete'', ''nä" = "as water" :* "pien'', ''i'', ''nä palas'', ''i'', ''na" = "in small pieces" :* "Paljonko on viisi euroa dollare'', ''i'', ''na?" = "How much is five Euros in Dollars?" :* "se on täyn'', ''nä" = "it is full" :The essive is also used for the time when something takes place, but not for clock time: :* "huomen'', ''na" = "tomorrow" :* "maanantai'', ''na" = "on Monday" :* "kuudente'', ''na joulukuuta" = "on the 6th of December" (Finnish independence day). :* "tä'', ''nä vuon'', ''na" = "this year" :* "tä'', ''nä aamu'', ''na" = "this morning" (Note that for months, the inessive case is used instead) :In ancient Finnish, essive had a locative sense, which can still be seen in some words, one special case being words expressing comparative location: :* "koto'', ''na" = "at home" (''koto'' being an archaic form of ''koti'', still current in some dialects) :* "ulko'', ''na" = "outside; out of doors" :* "taka'', ''na" = "behind (something)" :* "läh'', ''empä'', ''nä" = "nearer" :* "rann'', ''empa'', ''na" = "closer to the shore" :* "länn'', ''empä'', ''nä" = "further west"Translative
Characteristic ending -ksi added to the weak vowel stem. The ending is -kse- before a possessive suffix. :This is the counterpart of the essive, with the basic meaning of a change of state. Examples: :* "maalaa se punaise'', ''ksi" = "paint it red" :* "tunnen itseni väsynee'', ''ksi" = "I feel tired". :* "se muuttui vede'', ''ksi" = "it turned into water" :Also has a meaning similar to English "for a ..." :* "mäki on englanni'', ''ksi 'hill'" = (literally:) "'hill' is English for mäki" :* "toistaise'', ''ksi" = "for the time being", "for now" :* "suunnitelmia perjantai'', ''ksi" = "plans for Friday" :* "valmis perjantai'', ''ksi" = "ready by Friday" :* "mitä sinä teet työ'', ''kse'', ''si?" = "what do you do for a living?" :Rarely indicates location (going somewhere): :* "läh'', ''emmä'', ''ksi" = "(moving) nearer to" :* "rann'', ''emma'', ''ksi" = "closer to the shore" :* "länn'', ''emmä'', ''ksi" = "further west"Instructive
Characteristic ending -n added usually (but not always) to plural stem. :This has the basic meaning of "by means of". It is a comparatively rarely used case, mostly used in fixed expressions and with a very few exceptions always in the plural. :* "omi'', ''n silmi'', ''n" = "with (my) own eyes" :* "käsi'', ''n" = "by hand" :* "jalokivi'', ''n koristeltu" = "decorated with jewels" :* "rinta rinna'', ''n = "side by side" :* "jala'', ''n" = "by foot" :Many common adverbs have the form of a word in the instructive case, but these have developed into independent words :* "harvoi'', ''n" = "rarely" :* "hyvi'', ''n" = "well" :* "nii'', ''n" = "thus" :The instructive also occurs in some fixed phrases in an adverbial sense :* "keskimääri'', ''n" = "on average" :* "allapäi'', ''n" = "in low spirits" :It is also used with verbal second infinitives to mean "by ...ing", for example :* "lentäen" = "by flying", "by air"Abessive
Characteristic ending -tta. :This has the basic meaning of "without". This case is rarely used by itself, especially in the spoken language, but is found in some expressions and proverbs. :* "joka kuri'', ''tta kasvaa, se kunnia, tta kuolee" = "who grows up without discipline, dies without honor" :However, abessive is quite common in combination with the third infinitive (-ma-, -mä-). :* "syömättä" = "without eating" :* "tekemättä" = "without doing" :* "... lukuun ottamatta" = "without taking into account..."Comitative
Characteristic ending -ne (plus a possessive suffix for nouns but none for adjectives). This ending is added to the plural stem, even if the noun is singular, which may cause ambiguity. :This is a rarely used case, especially in the spoken language. The meaning is "in the company of" or "together with" :* "talo kirjoi'', ''ne'', ''en" = "the house with its books" or "book" :* "hän saapui kaunii'', ''ne vaimoi'', ''ne'', ''en" = "he arrived together with his beautiful wife" or "wives"Others
Prolative
The prolative is almost exclusively found in a few fossilised forms in modern Finnish and is therefore not usually considered a living noun case (it is more common in Estonian but not considered a case there either). Its meaning is "by way of", some common examples being :* 'posti'', ''tse' = 'by post' :* 'puhelimi'', ''tse' = 'by phone' :* 'meri'', ''tse' = 'by sea' :* 'kiertotei'', ''tse' = 'by indirect route', or 'in a roundabout way' :* 'yli'', ''tse' = 'over' :* 'ohi'', ''tse'', ''ni' = 'past me'The Finnish locative system
TheFurther reading
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