Illatiivimuodolla

Illatiivimuodolla is a grammatical form used primarily in Fennic languages, notably Finnish and Estonian, to express motion toward a destination or a change of state. In Finnish, the illative case is indicated by the suffixes -iin, -en, -un, or -aan, depending on vowel harmony and consonant gradation. For instance, "koti" (home) becomes "kotii" (to home), and "arkki" (clam) becomes "arkkii" (to a clam). The illative is frequently employed in travel expressions, such as "menen kouluun" (I am going to school) or "tulen kotiin" (I come home). It also conveys figurative motion, as in "päästetään liekistä tuli" (to burn into flames).

In Estonian, the illative uses -si and -i or -a, as in "kodusse" (to home) or "teises" (into a second). Its function is analogous to Finnish: indicating motion toward or transition.

Beyond the individual languages, the illative concept is reflected in other Uralic languages, where the case signals a directed movement or transformation. In a broader linguistic sense, illative-like morphology appears in non‑Uralic languages, where suffixes or particles mark movement toward a goal, though the specific forms and usage differ.

The term "illatiivimuodolla" literally translates to "in the illative form" and is commonly used in linguistic descriptions, language learning materials, and grammatical reference texts to describe sentences that employ this case.