Illative
The Illative (illatiivi) case is part of the internal locative cases. It typically corresponds to the “into” preposition in English, and usually refers to a change or observation of “something going from outside to inside”. In Finnish it is indicated by the -Vn suffix, where the V is a vowel followed by an -n.
Concept
- When something is going to and into something else.
- When phrasing or expressing time.
Usage
When something is going to and into something else, double the vowel and add the appropriate -Vn or -hVn suffix.
| Word | Translation | Example | Example translated |
|---|---|---|---|
Talo | House | Taloon, taloihin | Into the house(s) |
Kaappi | Cupboard | Kaappiin, kaappeihin | Into the cupboard(s) |
Laatikko | Box | Laatikkoon, laatikoihin | Into the box(es) |
Tasku | Pocket | Taskuun, taskuihin | Into the pocket(s) |
Auto | Car | Autoon, autoihin | Into the car(s) |
To identify the time until something occurs the Illative case is used.
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
Kolmeen asti | Until 3 |
Iltaan asti | Until the evening |
Elokuuhun asti | Until August |
Keskipäivästä keskiyöhön asti | From noon until midnight |
Ensi vuoteen asti | Until next year |
Formation
Words that end in a single vowel of -a/-ä, -o/-ö or -u/-y double their last vowel before adding the -n suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Talo | Taloon |
Sänky | Sänkyyn |
Kaappi | Kaappiin |
Words which have a stem that ends in 2 of the same vowels simply add the _-seen suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Huonee- | Huoneeseen |
Osoitee- | Osoitteeseen |
Espoo- | Espooseen |
Words which have a stem that end in 2 different vowels double their last vowel before adding the -n suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Museo | Museoon |
Vaikea | Vaikeaan |
Pimeä | Pimeään |
Words that are only 1 syllable and end in 2 vowels add an -hVn pattern suffix, where the vowel in the middle of the suffix is the same as the last vowel of the word.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Kuu | Kuuhun |
Maa | Maahan |
Yö | Yöhön |
Words that end in -nen change to -se before adding the -en suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Suomalainen | Suomalaiseen |
Sininen | Siniseen |
Ukkonen | Ukkoseen |
New Finnish words typically look or sound like words in other languages. They perhaps most commonly seem to resemble English words. These words double their last vowel before adding the -n suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Pankki | Pankkiin |
Bussi | Bussiin |
Kahvi | Kahviin |
Old Finnish words that end in -i change to -e before adding the -en suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Suomi | Suomeen |
Järvi | Järveen |
Kivi | Kiveen |
Old Finnish words that end in -si change to -te before adding the -en suffix.
| Word | Conjugation |
|---|---|
Uusi | Uuteen |
Kuukausi | Kuukauteen |
Vuosi | Vuoteen |