illatiivipäätteeseen

The illative case is a grammatical case found in some languages, most notably in Finnish. It is used to indicate movement into, or a state of being within, a location. In essence, it answers the question "into what?" or "where into?". The illative suffix is a marker added to the end of a noun or pronoun to signify this directional meaning.

In Finnish, the illative is a prominent case. Its typical suffix is -Vn, where V represents a vowel that harmonizes with the preceding vowel of the stem. For example, the illative of "talo" (house) is "taloon" (into the house). Similarly, "metsä" (forest) becomes "metsään" (into the forest). This case is crucial for expressing spatial relationships and is frequently encountered in everyday language. It can also be used metaphorically to indicate entering a state or a condition, such as "uneen" (into sleep). Understanding the illative is fundamental to comprehending Finnish grammar and its nuanced expression of movement and state.