Appendix:Finnish adverbial cases

Some Finnish grammars define adverbial cases as a set of additional "noun cases". These cases are not applicable to every nominal (with possibly one exception) and forms of these cases are considered adverbs rather than case forms. This list mainly follows Suomen kielioppi by Panu Mäkinen.

Superessive

The superessive case is part of a third set of locative cases alongside the delative and sublative cases. It corresponds to the inessive or adessive cases, expressing presence at a static location, often nearby or alongside something else. Its ending is -alla. Only singular forms exist.

Some grammars consider tuolla, täällä and siellä to be superessive forms, but etymologically the former is indistinguishable from the adessive case form, while the latter two have a distinct -ka suffix, unlike widely accepted superessive adverbs like kaikkialla and muualla.

Delative

The delative case is part of a third set of locative cases alongside the superessive and sublative cases. It corresponds to the elative or ablative cases, expressing moving away from nearby or alongside something. Its ending is -alta. Only singular forms exist.

Sublative

The sublative case is part of a third set of locative cases alongside the superessive and delative cases. It corresponds to the illative or allative cases, expressing moving towards nearby or alongside something. Its ending is -alle in most words, but -nne for others (usually ones with a monosyllabic stem, such as the common pronoun forms tänne, tuonne, sinne). Only singular forms exist.

Lative

Lative adverbs express motion towards something. Finnish has a multitude of lative suffixes, the most common of which are -s, -i and -(k) (the last suffix has no visible spelling). Occasionally these forms are called the s-lative, i-lative and k-lative, respectively. At times the translative ending may serve a lative role, like in taakse. Only singular forms exist.

Locative

Locative adverbs express being in or at a static location. The locative ending is the same as the essive ending -na, since the essive case has developed from the original locative sense which is now only present in adverbs. Only singular forms exist.

Separative

Separative adverbs express moving away from a location. The separative ending is the same as the partitive ending (usually of the form -a, -ta), since the partitive case has developed from the original separative sense which is now only present in adverbs. Only singular forms exist.

Temporal

Temporal adverbs express points of time for when something happens. All temporal endings have developed from instructive plural endings and end in -oin. The most common ending is -lloin, but -kkoin, -nnoin and plain -oin are also found. Temporal adverbs are generally considered to all be in singular, although etymologically they are in the plural.

Causative

Causative adverbs express manner of doing. The ending is -ten. The plural causative form -iten is also used as a superlative adverb suffix (for which the more common suffix is -immin, but for some individual words -iten has become predominant).

Multiplicative

Multiplicative adverbs express how many times something is done, and most multiplicative adverbs are derived from numerals. The case ending is -sti. Only singular forms exist. -sti is also used to derive adverbs of manner from adjectives, and these are sometimes considered multiplicative as well.

Distributive

Distributive adverbs express distribution or manner (especially in imitation). The case ending is -ttain. Distributive singular forms are rare, and most distributive forms are in the plural.

Temporal distributive

Temporal distributive adverbs generally express a repeating time reference for when something occurs, but are sometimes also used to express an origin or source for something. The case ending is -isin. Only plural forms exist.

Prolative

Prolative adverbs express motion through something or by something (as a medium). The case ending is -(i)tse (the -i- is not etymologically the plural infix, but an original part of the suffix). Prolative singular forms are rare, and most prolative forms are in the plural.

The prolative case is generally more productive than other adverbial cases, and the case ending may even apply to attributes (pitkitse kirjeitse), which may be a sign of prolative being a full case (however, with most nominals it would be even more rare than the instructive case).

Situative

Situative adverbs express location next to something else, usually in a reciprocal fashion (e.g. seläkkäin (“back to back”)). The case ending is -kkain. Only singular forms exist.

Oppositive

Oppositive adverbs express location of two or more things facing against each other. The case ending is -tusten or -tuksin. Only singular forms exist.

Terminative

Terminative adverbs express movement up to a certain point. The different terminative case endings (all rare) are -nni and -li. Only singular forms exist.