elativesingular

Elativesingular, also called elative singular, is a grammatical form used in languages that have an elative case. It denotes origin or source for a singular noun, roughly translating to “out of” or “from” in English. The concept is not language-unique in name, but the exact morphological realization varies by language.

In Finnish, the elative singular is formed with the suffix -sta or -stä, depending on vowel harmony. Examples include talo (house) becoming talosta (out of the house) and vesi (water) becoming vedestä (out of the water). In Turkish, the elative is expressed with the suffix -den or -dan, yielding examples like evden (from the house). Other languages with elative-like systems use different suffixes, but the function remains the same: marking movement away from a location or origin of object or action.

Elativesingular is part of the broader elative system, which also includes plural forms and other case markings that indicate source or direction. The form typically interacts with phonology, such as vowel harmony or consonant changes, and with the nominal’s stem in ways that are specific to each language.

Functionally, the elativesingular is used with verbs of movement, location, or origin, as well as with nouns describing source. It provides essential information about where something is emerging from or where it originates, while keeping the noun in singular number.

See also: elative case, grammatical case, singular number, Turkish suffixes, Finnish grammar, vowel harmony.