Puheelle

Puheelle is the allative form of the Finnish noun puhe, meaning speech or talk. In Finnish grammar, the allative case marks direction toward something or an action directed at a person or event; hence puheelle signals “to a speech” or “toward a speech.”

Formation and form: The allative suffix -lle is added to the noun stem puhe to create puheelle. It is a singular form and is used when the action or reference is oriented toward a speech as an event or object of attention. It is not used to express possession.

Usage: Puheelle appears mainly in linguistic descriptions, grammar references, and educational materials that illustrate case usage. In practical writing it is encountered in contexts discussing public speaking, ceremonies, or formal events where a speech is the focal point or destination of an action. It is less common in everyday language outside of explicit grammatical examples, where other cases of puhe are more frequently used to indicate location, source, or possession.

Relation to other forms: Puheelle contrasts with other inflections of puhe such as puhe (base), puheesta (genitive of the source), puheelle’s illative counterpart puheeseen (into a speech), and puheella (adessive: at a speech). The allative emphasizes direction toward the speech as an event or address, rather than into or from it.

See also: Finnish grammar, noun cases, allative case, puhe.