Kostealle

Kostealle is a form found in Finnish that serves as the allative expression of the adjective koste, meaning damp or moist. In practice, kostealle is used to indicate direction toward or placement at a damp place, typically in contexts where the noun is understood from context or explicitly stated elsewhere.

Grammatically, kostealle is formed by attaching the allative suffix -lle to the stem of the adjective koste. This construction allows an adjective to convey location or movement in relation to a damp environment without requiring a repeated noun. As with other allative forms in Finnish, kostealle can appear with an omitted noun when the meaning is clear from context, or with a following noun that specifies the place, for example kostealle alueelle or kostealle tilalle in longer phrases.

Usage and nuance, in everyday language, are somewhat specialized. Kostealle tends to appear in descriptive, ecological, or natural science writing, as well as in literature that emphasizes atmosphere, terrain, or habitat. It is less common in casual speech, where speakers may prefer more explicit phrases such as to damp places or to a damp field, depending on the context.

In translation, kostealle conveys the sense of “to the damp place” or “toward dampness,” and its exact sense depends on the accompanying noun and the broader sentence. It illustrates Finnish’s use of case endings with adjectives to express spatial relations, a feature that contrasts with languages that do not inflect adjectives for case.

See also Finnish grammar, allative case, koste (damp), Finnish adjectives.