This appendix is about adverbs in the Finnish language.
Many Finnish adverbs are adverbs of manner that are derived with the suffix-sti, equivalent to English-ly. They can be derived from practically any adjective:
Note that unlike-ly, adverbs derived with-sti are not used to express a degree or extent of something, which is instead done with theAppendix:Finnish nominal forms § Genitive:
This can result in subtle differences:
Finnish has a well-established three-way system for expressing locations and directions using cases:
| Symbol | Type | Internal | External | Abstract | Proximity | Old |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| →○ | "to" | illative | allative | translative | sublative | lative |
| ○ | "in" ("at", "on") | inessive | adessive | essive | superessive | locative |
| ○→ | "from" | elative | ablative | —1 | delative | separative |
| 1In some dialects, theexessive case. | ||||||
Out of these, the internal, external and abstract locative cases are used for all nominals, but adverbs can use any of these five. The proximity set is often used with adverbs expressing proximity to something, rather than an exact location. The old case set is only found in a small set of adverbs, but is also used with adverbs expressing a comparative location, e.g.tännemmäs(“closer to here”)(of motion); in the latter case, the lative is interchangeable with the translative (could also betännemmäksi).
The below table contains an example adverb for all of these cases:
| Symbol | Type | Internal | External | Abstract | Proximity | Old |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| →○ | "to" | väliin | päälle | raskaaksi | muualle | ulos |
| ○ | "in" ("at", "on") | välissä | päällä | raskaana | muualla | ulkona |
| ○→ | "from" | välistä | päältä | — | muualta | ulkoa |
When glossing these adverbs, the labels(locative) and(of motion) are often used. The former refers to the "in" type, while the latter refers to the "to" type. For example,muualla is“elsewhere”(locative), whilemuualle is“elsewhere”(of motion); the former is used when something isin another place, while the latter is used when something isgoing to another place:
Likewise,täällä is“here”(locative), whiletänne is“here”(of motion); the latter could also be translated ashither, although that word is only used inliterary contexts in modern English.
The system of locative cases has also been extended to derive adverbs describing a state of being. These cases are not necessarily restricted to the abstract locative cases, and indeed, can also use the internal and external locative cases as well.
When glossing these adverbs, the labels(of state) and(of result) are often used. The former refers to the "in" type, while the latter refers to the "to" type. In other words, the former is used when talking about a state of being, while the latter is used when talking about somethingentering a state of being, i.e. a change of state:
There exists a set of suffixes that are used to derive new adverbs. Some Finnish grammars group many of them into so-calledadverbial 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 followsSuomen kielioppi by Panu Mäkinen.
Note that the term 'adverbial case' is somewhat controversial, and many grammars, such asIso suomen kielioppi, do not use the term. Many of the individual cases listed below are still relatively well accepted, however.
Thesuperessive 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. Superessive adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the inessive (or adessive) case.
Some grammars considertuolla,täällä andsiellä 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 likekaikkialla andmuualla.
Thedelative 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. Delative adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the elative (or ablative) case.
Thesublative 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 formstänne,tuonne,sinne). Only singular forms exist. Sublative adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the illative (or allative) case.
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 thes-lative,i-lative andk-lative, respectively. At times the translative ending may serve a lative role, like intaakse. Only singular forms exist. Lative adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the illative (or allative) case.
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. Locative adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the inessive (or adessive) case.
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. Separative adverbs can also be used with many verbs that take adverbials inflected in the elative (or ablative) case.
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 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, e.g. foreniten).
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 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 adverbs generally express a repeating time reference for when something (consistently) occurs, but are sometimes also used to express an origin or source for something. The case ending is-isin. Only plural forms exist.
Prolative adverbs express motion through something or by something (as a medium). The case ending is-(i)tse (the-i- is etymologically an original part of the suffix, not the plural infix, but it is now often treated as a plural marker). 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 adverbs express location next to something else, usually in a reciprocal fashion. The case ending is-kkain. Most forms are singular; plural forms are rare.
Oppositive adverbs express location of two or more things facing against each other. The case ending is-tusten or-tuksin. Most forms are singular; plural forms are rare.
Terminative adverbs express movement up to a certain point. The different terminative case endings (all rare) are-nni and-li. Only singular forms exist.