The place of prepositions in other languages is supplied by
postpositions, that is to say, by words which follow a substantive
(mostly in the genitive or partitive case). These words are not, however,
really analogous to the indeclinable prepositions of other languages;
they are cases of substantives, some of which are found used in the
nominative case. For instance, =ali= (not used as a substantive) means
a place under something else. From this are formed the cases =alla=,
=alle=, =alta=, etc., which are used as prepositions, e.g. =kissa on
pöydän alla=, _the cat is in the place under the table_, that is,
_under the table_; =kissa meni pöydän alle=, _the cat went to the
place under the table_, that is, _under the table_; =kissa tuli pöydän
alta=, _the cat came from the place under the table_, or _from under
the table_. A list of these substantives, which are mostly fragmentary
in their declensions, is given in the Syntax. A few of them precede the
substantive which they govern and can hence be called prepositions. Such
words mostly require that the substantive which they govern should be in
the partitive, whereas postpositions follow a word in the genitive.