laatikolla

Laatikolla is the adessive form of the Finnish word laatikko, meaning a box. It indicates location on the surface of a box or on top of a box. In Finnish, location is expressed with cases: the adessive -lla denotes “on” or “on top of” a surface; the inessive -ssa/-ssä means “in” a place; the elative -lta/-ltä means “from” that place. Therefore laatikolla answers the question where something is located.

Examples illustrate its use: Kissa on laatikolla (The cat is on the box). Kirjat ovat laatikolla (The books are on the box). To express being inside a box, use laatikossa: Kissa on laatikossa (The cat is in the box). To indicate movement away from a surface, you may use laatikolta: Kissa putosi laatikolta (The cat fell from the box). These forms show how Finnish uses different cases to express spatial relations.

Notes on related forms help with comprehension: laatikko on its own means “box.” The forms laatikossa, laatikolla, laatikolta, and laatikkoon cover in/into, on/top of, from, and into the box, respectively, while laatikon denotes the box’s genitive form (the box’s).

In everyday language, laatikolla is a common locative expression used in homes, inventories, and instructions. It is part of standard Finnish grammar and demonstrates how noun endings convey spatial relations without prepositions.