Ablative / Study Finnish

The Ablative (ablatiivi) case is part of the internal locative cases. It typically corresponds to the “from” preposition in English, and usually refers to a change or observation of “something going from somewhere externally closeby to outside”. This is not always exact and depends on the context. In Finnish it is indicated by the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Concept

Including, but not limited to:

When something is going away from a place it is near or around.
When phrasing or expressing time.
When using certain (and often perceptional) verbs.

Usage

When something is going away from a place it is near or around

The Ablative (-lta/-ltä) locative case often corresponds to the Adessive locative case (-lla/-llä) in that something goes away from a place it is near or around.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when identifying that something is going away from a place it is near or around.
Word	Translation	Example	Example translated
Talo	House	Talolta, taloilta	From around the house(s)
Kaappi	Cupboard	Kaapilta, kaapeilta	From around the cupboard(s)
Laatikko	Box	Laatikolta, laatikoilta	From around the box(es)
Kauppa	Store	Kaupalta, kaupoilta	From around the store(s)
Auto	Car	Autolta, autoilta	From around the car(s)

When phrasing or expressing time

To identify at what time something happens the Ablative case is used. This is only used for half or full hours and only between 1-12.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when phrasing or expressing time.
Word	Translation
Kello yhdeltä	At 1
Kello kahdeksalta	At 8
Puoli kahdeltatoista	At half 12 (11:30)

More examples of the Ablative usage when expressing time can be found from the Telling the time page.

When using certain verbs

Often when giving an opinion that relates to one’s senses or perceptions the Ablative locative case is used.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating certain verbs.
Word	Translation
Ruoka maistuu hyvältä	The food tastes good
Se haisee pahalta	It smells bad
He näyttävät surullisilta	They look sad

Formation

When words end in a single vowel

Words that end in a single vowel of -a/-ä, -o/-ö or -u/-y simply add the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating Finnish words that end in a single vowel of -a/-ä, -o/-ö or -u/-y.
Word	Conjugation
Auto	Autolta
Pöytä	Pöydältä
Sänky	Sängyltä

When words end in -e

Words that end in -e acquire a second -e before adding the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating words that end in -e.
Word	Conjugation
Parveke	Parvekkeelta
Tampere	Tampereelta
Tie	Tieltä

When words end in -nen

When words end in -nen

Words that end in -nen change to -se before adding the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating words that end in -nen.
Word	Conjugation
Kivinen	Kiviseltä
Punainen	Punaiselta
Ykkönen	Ykköseltä

New Finnish words

New Finnish words typically look or sound like words in other languages. They perhaps most commonly seem to resemble English words. These words simply add the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating new Finnish words.
Word	Conjugation
Pankki	Pankilta
Bussi	Bussilta
Kioski	Kioskilta

Old Finnish words

Old Finnish words that end in -i change to -e before adding the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating old Finnish words that end in -i.
Word	Conjugation
Helmi	Helmeltä
Kylki	Kyljeltä
Talvi	Talvelta

Old Finnish words ending in -si

Old Finnish words ending in -si

Old Finnish words that end in -si change to -de before adding the -lta/-ltä suffix.

Table for the list of ablative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating old Finnish words that end in -si.
Word	Conjugation
Uusi	Uudelta
Kuukausi	Kuukaudelta
Vuosi	Vuodelta