tapauks

Tapauks is a linguistic term used in Finnish grammar to refer to the stem of the noun tapaus, which means a case, incident, or event. In Finnish morphology, words are declined for number and case, and the form tapauks- appears as the base for a range of inflected forms. This stem is familiar in grammatical descriptions and dictionaries when illustrating how a word of this type changes with endings, rather than as a separate, independent word in ordinary use.

Common inflected forms built from the stem tapauks- include: tapaus (singular nominative), tapaukset (plural nominative), tapausta (singular partitive), tapauksia (plural partitive), tapauksen (singular genitive), tapauksien (plural genitive), tapauksessa (singular inessive), tapauksissa (plural inessive), tapauksesta (singular elative), and tapauksista (plural elative). These forms show how number and case affect the word in actual Finnish sentences. The stem may also appear in other grammatical constructions and in compound forms derived from tapaus.

In usage, tapaus refers to an individual instance or situation, such as in phrases like useita tapauksia on raportoitu (several cases have been reported) or tapauksien määrä (the number of cases). In linguistic analysis, tapauks- is noted as the base form from which the various inflected forms are generated.

See also: tapaus, Finnish phonology and morphology, inflection.