Allatiivi

Allatiivi is the allative case in Finnish grammar. It is one of the locative cases and is used to express motion toward a location or toward the recipient of an action. The typical suffix is -lle, attached to the noun stem: talolle (to the house), koululle (to the school), pöydälle (onto the table), opettajalle (to the teacher). It is commonly used with verbs of motion such as mennä or tulla to indicate destination, and with ditransitive constructions to mark the recipient of something.

The allatiivi contrasts with other locative cases such as the inessive (in), adessive (on/at), and illative (into). In particular, illativi/illative expresses movement into the interior of a place (such as taloon), whereas allatiivi expresses movement toward a location or toward a recipient, not necessarily into it. The allatiivi suffix -lle is a fixed form and does not vary for number.

Examples illustrate typical usage: “Mennään koululle” (We are going to the school), “Anna kirjat opettajalle” (Give the books to the teacher), “Pöydälle laita avaimet” (Put the keys onto the table). The allatiivi thus provides a concise, case-based way to encode destination and recipient without prepositions.