Adessiivvorm

Adessiivvorm, or adessive form, is a grammatical form used in certain Finnic languages to mark location or means in a sentence. It denotes being on or at a surface, at a location, or the instrument with which an action is performed. The adessive is one of the locative cases and serves both spatial and instrumental functions.

In Finnish, the adessive case is called adessiivi and is marked by the endings -lla or -llä in the singular, and -illa or -illä in the plural. The choice between -lla/-llä and -illa/-illä depends on vowel harmony and the noun’s ending. Examples include pöydällä (on the table), kynällä (with a pen), and käsillä (with hands). The form agrees with number and takes the noun’s base in combination with the adessive suffix. The adessive answers questions such as Missä on X? (Where is X?) and Millä teet sen? (With what do you do it?).

Functionally, adessive use spans both locative and instrumental meanings. Locative usage describes placement on a surface or at a location, often translated as “on” or “at.” Instrumental usage expresses the means or instrument by which an action is performed, commonly translated as “with.” In practice, the same noun form can fulfill both senses depending on context.

Across Finnic languages, the concept of an adessive form exists with language-specific endings and nuances, but the core idea remains: a noun form that signals location on or at something and, in some cases, the instrument used.