Illatiivi

Illatiivi, or illative case, is a locative case in Finnish grammar that marks direction toward or into a destination. It answers the question minne? (to where?) and is commonly used with verbs of motion to indicate entering or reaching a place or object, such as going into a building or arriving at a location.

Formation and variation: The illative is formed by attaching suffixes to the noun stem. The exact ending varies according to phonology and vowel harmony, so several allomorphs exist. Common singular examples include taloon (into the house), huoneeseen (into the room), kaupunkiin (into the city), metsään (into the forest), and kirjaan (into the book). These forms show different patterns of the illative endings, reflecting the stem’s final sound and the word’s vowel harmony.

Usage notes: The illatiivi is used with verbs of motion such as mennä (to go) or tulla (to come) when specifying a destination. It is also used in some fixed expressions and with certain adpositions to convey entering or reaching a place. The illative contrasts with other Finnish locative cases, notably the inessive (into/inside), elative (out of/from), and allative (onto/to), which answer questions like missä?, mistä?, and minne with slightly different nuance.

Plural forms: The illatiivi also has plural forms. Examples include taloihin (into the houses), huoneisiin (into the rooms), kaupunkeihin (into the cities), and metsiin (into the forests). Plural illative forms generally follow regular pluralization patterns of the singular stem plus the illative suffix.

In summary, the illatiivi expresses motion toward or into a destination, with stem-dependent suffixes that reflect vowel harmony and phonological alternations.