illatiivipäätteeksi

Illatiivipäätteeksi is a term from Finnish grammar referring to the illative suffix, a grammatical ending used to mark motion into something. In Finnish, the illative is one of the locative cases and answers questions like into where? or onto what?, as in verbs of movement (mennä taloon, mennä kotiin).

The illative suffix appears in several allomorphs depending on the stem’s vowel harmony and phonology. Common realizations include forms such as -oon, -ään, -in, and -een, among others. These suffixes attach to the noun stem to produce illative forms. Examples include taloon (into the house), metsään (into the forest), kotiin (into the home), autoon (into the car), and veteen (into the water). The exact shape of the suffix is largely determined by the final vowel of the stem and, in some cases, by consonant changes that occur in certain word classes.

Usage of illatiivipäätteeksi is primarily to express movement toward or into a location, object, or goal. It contrasts with related cases such as the inessive (into being inside) or the elative (out of), and it interacts with broader Finnish harmony and stem-alternation patterns. For learners, illative forms are typically introduced early in instruction as a core part of locating and directional meaning in Finnish sentences.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, locative suffixes.