Elative / Study Finnish

The Elative (elatiivi) 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 inside to outside”. This is not always exact and depends on the context. In Finnish it is indicated by the -sta/-stä suffix.

Concept

Including, but not limited to:

When something comes from somewhere.
When giving an opinion.
When using certain verbs.

Usage

When something comes from somewhere

Typically when something physically comes, moves or changes its position from somewhere.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when something comes from somewhere.
Word	Translation	Example	Example translated
Talo	House	Talosta, taloista	From the house(s)
Kaappi	Cupboard	Kaapista, kaapeista	From the cupboard(s)
Laatikko	Box	Laatikosta, laatikoista	From the box(es)
Tasku	Pocket	Taskusta, taskuista	From the pocket(s)
Auto	Car	Autosta, autoista	From the car(s)

When giving an opinion

Opinions are typically provided from someone so they utilise the Elative locative case.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when giving an opinion.
Word	Translation
Minä tykkään kahvista	I like coffee
Sinusta kirja oli loistava	(In your opinion) the book was great
Hänestä Suomi on kaunis maa	(In his opinion) Finland is a beautiful country

When using certain verbs

When using verbs to express opinions, such as Pitää or Tykätä.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when using certain verbs.
Word	Translation
Minä pidän kahvista	I like coffee
Hän pitää ruoanlaitosta	He likes cooking
Tykkäätkö sinä kissoista?	Do you like cats?

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 -sta/-stä suffix.

Table for the list of elative 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
Talo	Talosta
Sänky	Sängystä
Kaappi	Kaapista

When words end in -e

Words that end in -e acquire a second -e before adding the -sta/-stä suffix.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating words that end in -e.
Word	Conjugation
Huone	Huoneesta
Vene	Veneestä
Lentokone	Lentokoneesta

When words end in -nen

When words end in -nen

Words that end in -nen change to -se before adding the -sta/-stä suffix.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating words that end in -nen.
Word	Conjugation
Sininen	Sinisestä
Suomalainen	Suomalaisesta
Toinen	Toisesta

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 -sta/-stä suffix.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating new Finnish words.
Word	Conjugation
Pankki	Pankista
Bussi	Bussista
Kahvi	Kahvista

Old Finnish words

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

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating old Finnish words that end in -i.
Word	Conjugation
Järvi	Järvestä
Lahti	Lahdesta
Suomi	Suomesta

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 -sta/-stä suffix.

Table for the list of elative locative case conjugation examples for when conjugating old Finnish words that end in -si.
Word	Conjugation
Uusi	Uudesta
Kuukausi	Kuukaudesta
Vuosi	Vuodesta