A. It denotes the _end_ towards which a period is regarded as advancing,
and can be translated by _until_ or _to_. =Pääsiäisestä on seitsemän
viikkoa Helluntaihin=, _it is seven weeks from Easter to Whitsuntide_.
=Kuu kiurusta kesään=, _it is a month from the time when the lark sings
to summer_ (proverb). =Vieläkö on pitkältä Jouloon?= _is it still long
till Christmas?_
In this sense it is often used with the preposition =hamaan=, or the
postpositions =asti= and =saakka=. =Tähän päivään saakka=, _up till that
day_; =myöhään yöhön saakka=, _till late at night_; =hamaan viimeiseen
päivään asti=, _till the day of one’s death_.
B. The illative is also used idiomatically to express the space of time
during which anything has _not_ taken place. =En ole nähnyt häntä kahteen
vuoteen=, _I have not seen him for two years_. =En ole syönyt kunnolleen
kolmeen päivään=, _I have not eaten properly for three days_. =Ei ole
ollut näin kaunista syksyä miesmuistiin=, _there has not been such a fine
autumn in the memory of man_.
C. It is also used to express the period of time in which an action is
performed. =Ansaitsee viisi ruplaa viikkoonsa=, _he earns five roubles a
week_. In this use the suffix is nearly always added to the case, but the
words =aikaan=, =aikoihin=, and =puoleen= (in compounds), and =seutuun=
are used in expressing time loosely. =Siihen aikaan=, _or_ =näihin
aikoihin=, _at that time_. =Joulun seutuun=, _about Christmas time_.
=Talven puoleen=, _in winter time_.
III, IV, V, VI. Like the inessive and elative, the illative is used
in a variety of metaphorical expressions, when entrance into a state
or condition is denoted. =Joutua eksyksiin=, _to go into error_, _to go
astray_. =Tulla toimeen=, _to get on_, _manage satisfactorily_. =Ei se
käy laatuun=, _that is impossible_. =Joutua hukkaan=, _to perish_. =Ajoi
hevosen uuvuksiin=, _he rode his horse till it was tired_. So also it is
used in speaking:—
(1) Of occupations, which are begun. =Hän meni työhön=, _he went to his
work_; and also such expressions as =mennä kalaan=, _to go fishing_;
=mennä marjaan=, _to go berry gathering_.
(2) Of the place on which anything is put. =Upseeri pani hattunsa
naulaan=, _the officer hung his hat on the peg_. =Vedä sappaat jalkaan=,
_to put on one’s boots_.
(3) Of liquids. =Hän löi nenänsä vereen=, _he gave him a bloody nose_.
=Järvi meni jäähän=, _the lake froze_.
VII. The illative also expresses the use to which anything is put,
or the purposes for which it is capable of being used. The origin of
this sense of the case is clearly shown by the derivation of the verb
to use, =käyttää=, which is the causal form of =käydä=, _to go_, and
means _to make a thing go in a certain direction_. =Hän käytti rahansa
hyviin tarkoituksiin=, _he employed his money for good purposes_.
=Tuhlasi aikansa turhuuteen=, _he wasted his time_. So also =Hän sopii
kaikkeen=, _he can do everything_. =Lappalaiset ovat kykenemättämiä
sotapalvelukseen=, _the Laps are not fitted for military service_.
=Mustalainen ei pysty työhön=, _a gipsy is not a good worker_. =Hän on
valmis kaikkeen hulluuteen=, _he is ready for any folly_.
VIII. Somewhat similar is the use of the illative to express the object
or desired goal of an action. =Isä kehoittaa poikaa ahkeruuteen=, _the
father exhorts the boy to be diligent_. Similarly =kehoitta iloon=, etc.
=Kasvattakaa lapsenne Jumalan pelkoon ja hyviin tapoihin=, _bring up
your children to fear God and behave properly_. =Minä neuvoin ystävääni
kärvällisyyteen=, =malttavaisuuteen=, _I advised my friend to be
patient_, or _prudent_. =Kenraali innostutti sotamiehet urhouteen=,
_the general exhorted his soldiers to bravery_.
IX. The illative is further used with verbs expressing feeling, chiefly
those formed with =u= or =y=, the idea being apparently that the feeling
passes from the subject to the object. For instance, =olla rakastunut
johonkin=, _to be in love with some one_. Cf. the Russian idiom =онъ въ
нее влюбленъ=. =Olen kyllästynyt näihin riitoihin=, _I am weary of these
quarrels_. =Siihen voitte luottaa=, _you may be sure of this_. =Hän ei
mielistynyt heidän neuvoonsa ja tekoonsa=, _he was not pleased with their
advice and doings_. =Tyydytkö siihen?= _are you satisfied with this?_
X. There is a curious idiom by which in certain phrases the illative
seems to be used to express the agent or cause of an action. =Kuolla
nälkään=, _to die of hunger_; =kuolla veteen=, _to be drowned_. =Nukkui
nuoret, nukkui vanhat Wäinämöisen soitantohon=, _old and young were
thrown into sleep by the songs of Wäinämöinen_. =Murehisin murtumatta=,
=huolihin katoamatta= (Kal. v. 216-7).
The idea in these phrases seems to be that the subject of the verb passes
_into the power_ of whatever is denoted by the illative.
XI. The illative is also used to express likeness. This is quite natural
with such a verb as =verrata=, _to compare_. E.g. =Verrattuna meihin, on
hän onnellinen=, _compared to us, he is happy_. The verb =vivahtaa=, _to
be like_, also takes this case: =vivahtaa veljeensä=, _he is like his
brother_; but the original meaning of the word is apparently physical
motion, to glance quickly by or into. By a similar idiom the verb
=tulla=, _to come_, with the illative means to resemble. =Hän tulee
isäänsä=, _he is like his father_. The use of the simple verb =olla=,
_to be_, with this case to express likeness is however truly singular,
and is apparently to be explained only by analogy. =Lapsi on isäänsä=,
_the child is like its father_. It is, however, exactly parallel to the
Russian expression =онъ въ отца, въ мать=. Cf. =Vesa kasvaa kantohonsa=,
_the young sprout grows like the parent stem_ (proverb).
XI. The illative expresses the limit which a number reaches. =Luku nousi
kahteen-sataan=, _the number reached two hundred_. =Siellä oli lapsia
viiteenkymmeneen=, _there were as many as fifty children_.
From this use the illative is also used to denote price. =Myydä halpaan
hintaan=, _to sell cheap_; =myydä kalliisen hintaan=, _to sell dear_.
=Tässä on omenoita kymmeneen kopekkaan=, _here are apples for ten
copecks_.