järvistä

järvistä is the elative plural form of the Finnish noun järvi, meaning lakes. In Finnish grammar, the elative case expresses movement from or origin, and it can also mark topic in discussion or description. Therefore järvistä can be translated as “from the lakes” or, depending on the verb, “about the lakes.”

Formation and use: The elative plural is formed by adding the suffix -stä to the stem järvi-, with standard vowel harmony, yielding järvistä. It is used with verbs that govern the elative or when referring to origins, sources, or topics in plural reference. Common verbs include puhua (to talk about), kirjoittaa (to write about), and kertoa (to tell about).

Examples: Puhuin järvistä eilen. Näiden järvistä otettiin näytteitä. Kirjoitan raportin järvistä. Translations: I talked about the lakes yesterday; Samples were taken from these lakes; I am writing a report about the lakes.

Notes: The elative plural järvistä contrasts with other case forms such as järvissä (in the lakes) and järvestä (from a lake). The genitive plural is järvien, and the nominative plural is järvet. The form järvistä is thus a key part of expressing source or topic in Finnish plural contexts.