Molemmille

Molemmille is a Finnish grammatical form meaning “to both” or “for both.” It is the allative case form of the determiner molemmat, which translates to “both” in English. The form molemmille is used when indicating the indirect object or recipient in a sentence that involves exactly two recipients.

Formation and usage in grammar: In Finnish, many words change form to indicate grammatical role. The allative case marks direction toward a recipient or addressee and is formed by adding the suffix -lle to the word. For molemmat, this yields molemmille. It is typically used with verbs that govern an indirect object, such as antaa (to give), toimittaa (to deliver), or lahjoittaa (to donate). For example: “Annan tämän molemmille” (I will give this to both of them) or “Lahjoitan kirjat molemmille” (I will donate the books to both).

Scope and usage notes: Molemmille specifically refers to two recipients. It is not used for more than two; for three or more, other forms such as kolmille “to three” or kaikille “to all” may be appropriate, depending on context. The construction can accompany both animate and inanimate objects and is common in everyday spoken Finnish as well as in written language.

Etymology and related forms: Molemmat derives from the word for “both.” The allative form molemmille is one of several inflected forms used to mark recipients in Finnish, alongside other case endings for different grammatical roles. Related forms include molemmat (nominative/determiner), molempien (genitive), and other number-specific allative forms such as kolmille for three.