Essive case
Encyclopedia
The essive or similaris case
(abbreviated ) carries the meaning of a temporary location or state of being, often equivalent to the English "as a (child)".
In the Finnish language
, this case is marked by adding "-na/-nä" to the stem of the noun.
In the Estonian language
, this case is marked by adding "-na" to the genitive case.
In Finnish, it is also used for specifying times, days and dates when something happens. For example:
maanantaina -> "on Monday", kuudentena joulukuuta -> "on the 6th of December". Some expressions use the essive in the ancient locative
meaning, e.g. "at home" is kotona. Observe the similarity to English "at home/in my home":
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
(abbreviated ) carries the meaning of a temporary location or state of being, often equivalent to the English "as a (child)".
In the Finnish language
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, this case is marked by adding "-na/-nä" to the stem of the noun.
- Example: lapsi "child" -> lapsena "as a child", "when (I) was a child".
In the Estonian language
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, this case is marked by adding "-na" to the genitive case.
- Example: laps "child" -> lapse "of child" -> lapsena "as a child", "when (I) was a child".
In Finnish, it is also used for specifying times, days and dates when something happens. For example:
maanantaina -> "on Monday", kuudentena joulukuuta -> "on the 6th of December". Some expressions use the essive in the ancient locative
Locative case
Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
meaning, e.g. "at home" is kotona. Observe the similarity to English "at home/in my home":
- Luen lehtiä kotona. "I read newspapers at home." If you use the inessiveInessive caseInessive case is a locative grammatical case. This case carries the basic meaning of "in": for example, "in the house" is "talo·ssa" in Finnish, "maja·s" in Estonian, "etxea·n" in Basque, "nam·e" in Lithuanian and "ház·ban" in Hungarian.In Finnish the inessive case is typically formed by adding...
, kodissani, you contrast to reading them in the garage (a physical location) instead. - Kodissani tehdään remonttia. "In my home, a renovation is underway."