elatiivimuoto

Elatiivimuoto, or elative form, is a grammatical case in Finnish used to express origin, source, or movement away from a place or state. It indicates the starting point of an action or the source of something and is used with nouns, pronouns, and some adjectives. It answers questions such as Mistä? “from where?” and is common in both concrete and figurative senses.

Formation and examples: The elative is formed by adding the suffix -sta or -stä to the word stem, with vowel harmony guiding the choice. Examples include talo → talosta (from the house), Suomi → Suomesta (from Finland), vesi → vedestä (from water). Pronouns also have elative forms: minä → minusta, sinä → sinusta, hän → hänestä. In the plural, talot (houses) becomes taloista (from the houses). Other common forms include meistä (from us), teistä (from you, plural), and heistä (from them).

Usage and nuance: The elatiivimuoto expresses geographical origin and movement away from a place, as well as source or basis for something. It is frequently used with verbs of leaving or deriving, and in expressions that convey opinion or perception, such as minusta tuntuu (it seems to me) or tästä on kyse (this is about it). Some stems and pronouns show irregular or idiosyncratic elative forms, particularly in personal pronouns and in cases where the stem changes in the suffix.

Overall, the elatiivimuoto is a central element of Finnish morphology, providing a means to denote origin, source, and starting point across a range of concrete and abstract contexts.