Adessiiv

Adessiiv is a locative case in Finnish grammar. It marks location on a surface or at a place, roughly corresponding to on, at, or atop in English. It is one of the standard noun cases used to express spatial relations and is commonly taught as part of the Finnish case system.

The adessiiv is formed with the suffix -lla or -llä, chosen according to vowel harmony. In practice, -lla is used with stems whose last vowel is a back vowel (a, o, u) and -llä with stems whose last vowel is a front vowel (ä, ö, y). The suffix attaches to the noun and can cause a double consonant when the stem ends with a consonant. Examples: pöytä -> pöydällä (on the table); talo -> talolla (at the house); kissa -> kissalla (on the cat); järvi -> järvellä (on the lake). In plural, the adessiiv takes -illa/-illä: talot -> taloilla (at the houses); pöydät -> pöydillä (on the tables); kissat -> kissoilla (on the cats).

Beyond literal location, the adessiiv has a notable use in possession constructions. With the verb olla, the phrase minulla on … means “I have …,” where minulla is the first-person singular possessor in the adessiiv form.

Summary: the adessiiv marks on- or at-location on surfaces and areas, governs possession expressions with olla, and follows Finnish vowel harmony in its suffix choice (-lla vs -llä). It contrasts with related locatives such as the inessive (in/on inside) and the allative (onto/onto with), helping to specify precise spatial relations in Finnish.