The allative ending is -lle, which is added to the inflectional stem in the
singular and plural and causes consonant gradation.
The allative expresses movement ‘towards a surface’ or ‘to someone’.
Basic form Allative singular Allative plural
katto kato/lle onto the roof kato/i/lle
tuoli tuoli/lle onto the chair tuole/i/lle
nainen naise/lle to the woman nais/i/lle
tyttö tytö/lle to the girl tytö/i/lle
The use of the allative is illustrated in the following sentences.
Kirja putosi lattia/lle. The book fell onto the floor.
Pane tyynyt sohva/lle! Put the cushions on the sofa!
Istuudun tuoli/lle. I sit down on the chair.
Lähdemmekö ostoks/i/lle? Shall we go shopping (‘to the
purchases’)?
Kuka vie koiran kävely/lle? Who will take the dog for a walk?
Menen parvekkee/lle. I am going onto the balcony.
Älä sylje lattia/lle! Don’t spit on the floor!
Tapio lähtee matka/lle huomenna. Tapio is going away (‘to a trip’)
tomorrow.
Illalla menemme Ylioppilastalo/lle. In the evening we are going to the
Student House.
120 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
Lähdemmekö asema/lle?
Shall we go to the station?
Hän on muuttanut Kauppiaankadu/lle.
He has moved to Merchant’s Street.
Oikea/lle vai vasemma/lle?
To the right or to the left?
Puhun sinu/lle.
I talk to you.
Kerro asia minu/lle.
Tell me about it (‘tell the matter to me’).
Annan lahjan vaimo/lle/ni.
I give a present to my wife.
Näytän te/i/lle tien.
I’ll show you the way.
Tarjoamme viera/i/lle illallisen.
We offer the guests a dinner.
Opetan suomea skandinaave/i/lle.
I teach Finnish to Scandinavians.
The perception verbs taking a structure with the ablative (§45) can also take
the allative, but in the standard language the ablative is more common.
Tämä näyttää kumma/lle ~ kumma/lta. This looks odd.
Ruoka maistui huono/lle ~ huono/lta. The food tasted bad.
Finally, a few examples of concord.
tä/lle miehe/lle to this man
pitkä/lle kävely/lle for a long walk
likaise/lle lattia/lle onto the dirty floor
kaik/i/lle nä/i/lle laps/i/lle to all these children
