inessiivissä

Inessiivi in Finnish grammar is the plural form of the inessive case. The inessive marks location inside something and answers the question missä? (where) in a plural sense. It is used with plural nouns to indicate “in the …” or “inside the …” for multiple items, as opposed to the singular inessive, which marks a single object.

Form and examples

The base inessive suffix in Finnish is -ssa or -ssä for singular, and -issa or -issä for plural. The exact vowel of the suffix follows vowel harmony, and the consonant structure can be affected by stem changes in some words. Examples:

- talo (house) → talossa (in the house) [singular]

- talot (houses) → taloissa (in the houses) [plural]

- keittiö (kitchen) → keittiöissä (in the kitchens) [plural]

- kaupungissa (in the city) is singular; kaupungissa and kaupungissā? In the plural, kaupungit → kaupungeissa (in the cities) [plural]

Usage

Inessiiviä is used to describe a static location inside a space or container. It answers the question “Where is X located?” with plural subjects. It contrasts with illatiivi (into), which expresses movement into something, and elatiivi (out of) or other locative cases that describe different relations. Common examples include:

- Kissa on talossa. (The cat is in the house.)

- Kissat ovat taloissa. (The cats are in the houses.)

- Lapset ovat kouluissa. (The children are at the schools.)

Notes

The inessive and its plural form are part of Finnish case system and are taught as a foundational element of noun inflection. Mastery involves recognizing vowel harmony effects and occasional stem changes in irregular nouns.

See also

Finnish case system; locative cases in Finnish.