(1) The _nominative_ has no suffix, though it does not always represent
the pure root. In =maa=, _land_, the two are identical, but the roots
=käte=, =vete=, =vieraha= produce the nominatives =käsi=, =vesi=,
=vieras=.
(2) The _partitive_ is formed by the suffix =ta=, =tä= or =a=, =ä=. It
may be roughly described as answering to a noun preceded in English by
the word _some_, or in French by the partitive article. =Leipää=, _some
bread_, _du pain_; =vettä=, _some water_, _de l’eau_.
(3) The _genitive_ is formed by the suffix =n=. =Puun=, _of the tree_.
The Finnish genitive really represents two cases, the genitive and
accusative, which have become confused in one form.
(4) The _inessive_ expresses the place, in which anything takes place,
and is formed with the suffix =-ssa=, =-ssä=. =Missä=, _where_ (_in
what_); =kirkossa=, _in the church_.
(5) The _elative_ expresses the place from which motion takes place,
and is formed with the suffix =-sta=, =-stä=. =Mistä=, _whence_ (_from
what_); =kirkosta=, _from the church_; =talosta=, _from the farm_.
(6) The _illative_ is formed by adding to the root the consonants =h—n=,
between which is inserted the last vowel of the root, or, if it ends
in a diphthong, the second vowel in that diphthong. =Talo=, =talohon=;
=metsä=, =metsähän=; =työ=, =työhön=. Generally the termination is
shortened by the omission of =h=, and we have forms like =taloon=,
=metsään=. It expresses the place into which motion takes place.
(7) The _adessive_ is formed with the suffix =-lla=, =-llä=, and
signifies the place on which, or the object with which, anything is done.
=Lattialla=, _on the floor_; =kädellä=, _with the hand_.
(8) The _ablative_ is formed with the suffix =-lta=, =-ltä=, and
expresses motion from. =Maalta=, _from the land_; =pöydältä=, _from the
table_.
(9) The _allative_ expresses motion towards, and is formed with the
suffix =-lle=. =Pellolle=, _to the field_; =rannalle=, _to the shore_.
(10) The _abessive_ is formed with the suffix =-tta=. It expresses the
absence of something; =rahatta=, _without money_.
(11) The _prolative_ is formed by adding the syllable =-tse=, and
expresses motion along; =talotse=, _along the farm_. In modern Finnish it
is rarely used in the singular. =Maitse=, =meritse=, _by land_, _by sea_.
(12) The _translative_ is formed with the suffix =-ksi=. It generally
is used to express some change in the form of existence. =Hän tuli
sotamieheksi=, _he became a soldier_.
(13) Whereas the _essive_, formed by adding =-na= or =-nä= to the root,
expresses a state of being regarded as continuous. =Lapsena=, _as a
child_.
(14) The _comitative_ is formed with the syllable =-ne=, and is generally
used in the plural, and with a possessive affix. =Lapsine= (or oftener
=lapsinensa=), _with his children_.
(15) The _instructive_ is formed by simply adding the letter =n= to a
root, and expresses the means by which anything is done. =Käsin=, _with
the hands_. The singular of the instructive is only used in poetry.
There are two numbers in Finnish, the singular and plural. For the
singular, the suffixes are added directly to the root: to form the plural
other letters are also added.
A. The nominative plural is formed by adding =t= to the root, e.g. root
and nominative sing. =maa=, nominative plur. =maat=; root and nominative
sing. =pata=, nominative plur. (by rule =31=) =padat=; root =vieraha=,
nominative sing. =vieras=, nominative plur. =vierahat=; root =vete=,
nominative sing. =vesi=, nominative plur. =vedet=.
B. The other cases, with the exceptions below mentioned, simply add =i=
to the root, which suffers the necessary phonetic changes, and then
take the same suffixes as the sing. =Maa=, inessive sing. =maassa=,
inessive plur. =maissa= (=3=); =pata=, illative sing. =patahan= or
=pataan=, illative plur. =patoihin= (=7=); =vieraha=, translative
sing. =vierahaksi= or =vieraaksi=, translative plur. =vierahiksi= or
=vieraiksi= (=11=).
C. But the genitive plural is formed with the suffix =-ite= (apparently a
combination of the two suffixes =i= and =t(e)= above mentioned), placed
before the case suffix =-n=.