Lokatiivimuoto

Lokatiivimuoto, or locative form, is a grammatical form used to express location relative to a noun. It is found in languages that have a locative case or locative-like constructions. The locative form answers questions of location and, in some languages, direction toward a location, or even a temporal sense such as “at a time.” Its exact realization varies: it may be expressed by a suffix on the noun, by a postpositional element, or by a combination of both. Some languages maintain a full set of locative endings that distinguish number, definiteness, or agreement with adjectives; others rely on prepositional phrases rather than a dedicated case.

In use, lokatiivimuoto marks static location (where something is) and can also convey movement toward a location (directional sense) or temporal reference in certain contexts. It interacts with verbs of position and motion, and with other locational cases in systems where multiple spatial meanings are distinguished, such as inessive, adessive, illative, or ablative in the same language family.

Morphology and typology vary widely. In some languages, the locative is one member of a broader case paradigm and is highly productive for nouns and adjectives. In others, the locative meaning is conveyed primarily by prepositions or postpositions, with the noun remaining in a more general case.

See also: locative case, inessive, illative, adessive, postposition.