The external cases correspond in their general significance and
employment to the internal cases already described, only while these
latter denote rest within and motion to or from the interior of an
object, the former in their strict meaning imply rest on and motion to or
from the surface of an object. But as may be seen by the examples this
distinction is not always very strictly observed. The external cases have
a tendency to denote animate objects.
_Adessive._
I. The adessive primarily denotes the place on which an action takes
place. =Poika istuu lattialla=, _the boy sits on the floor_. =Tuskin
voin olla jaloillani=, _I can hardly stand on my legs_. =Hän asuu tällä
kadulla=, _he lives in this street_. =Millä paikoilla?= _whereabouts?_
=Saksan maalla kasvaa hyviä viinirypäleitä=, _in Germany good grapes
grow_. =Kivet laikkui lainehilla, Somerot vesillä souti= (Kal. xliv. 261,
2).
II. The adessive is also used to mark time, when the period is not
definitely specified by a cardinal number or otherwise. =Päivällä=,
_in the day_, _by day_; =yöllä=, _by night_; =keväällä=, _in spring_;
=kesällä=, _in summer_; =syksyllä=, _in autumn_; =talvella=, _in winter_;
(but =viime kesänä=, _last spring_, because the time is determined by the
adjective).
=Kalat tärpäävät kesällä=, _fish bite in spring_. =Aamulla ani varahin=,
_very early in the morning_ (Kal. iv. 303). =Kysyi työtä iltaisella=, _he
asked for the work in the evening_ (Kal. xxxii. 6).
III. Like the inessive the adessive is used in a loose or metaphorical
sense to denote the external circumstances under which anything takes
place. Thus it is used of the weather. =Kuivalla säällä=, _in dry
weather_; =tuulella=, _in windy weather_. =Minä palasin kotiin sateella=,
_I returned home in the rain_. =Joka tyynellä makaa, se tuulella soutaa=
(proverb), _he who sleeps in a calm, rows in a wind_.
=Olla hereellä= _or_ =valveella=, _to be awake_. =On tulolla sade=, _it
is going to rain_. =Olen menolla=, _I am going_.
And in some cases where according to our ideas the circumstances denoted
are distinctly internal, e.g. =olla hyvällä tai pahalla mielellä=, _to
be in a good or bad humour_. =Olla hyvällä päällä=, _to feel courageous_.
Cf. Kal. xliv. 269, 270. =Nuoret naiset naurusuulla, Emännät ilolla
mielin.=
In particular it is thus used with verbal nouns to express that an action
is being undertaken. =Kirjan käännös on tekeellä= (_or_ =tekeilla=), _the
translation of the book is being made_. =Kangas on kuteella=, _the cloth
is being woven_.
IV. By a closely analogous use the adessive signifies the occupation in
which any one is engaged (cf. the use of the inessive in this sense).
=Olla ongella=, =nuotalla=, _to be engaged in fishing with a hook_ or
_net_.
This use is particularly frequent in the case of games or meals.
=Olla päivällisellä=, _to be at dinner_; =olla aamiaisella=, _to be
at breakfast_; =olla koppisilla=, _to be playing ball_. =Lapset ovat
piiloisilla=, _the children are playing hide and seek_.
V. The adessive is also used to signify with, near, or in the house of
(French _chez_). =Poika on meillä=, _le garçon est chez nous_. =Hänellä
on vieraita=, _he has guests staying with him_. =Vietin kolme päivää
eräällä ruotsalaisella herralla maalla=, _I spent three days with a
Swedish gentleman in the country_.
From an extension of this use it comes to denote possession, and in
combination with the =olla= replaces the verb _to have_, which does
not exist in Finnish. =Minulla on kirja=, _I have a book_. =Hänellä on
luunkolotus=, _he has the rheumatism_. =Mikä este sinulla oli?= _what
hindered you?_
In this idiom the verb is always in the third person sing., even though
the substantive is in the nominative plur. =Isällä on harmaat hiukset=,
_the father has white hair_. =Onko teillä saksia?= _have you a pair of
scissors?_ =Hevonen on rengillä=, _the man has the horse_. =Hyvällä on
nimiä paljo, pahalla tapoja paljo=, _good has many names and evil many
shapes_. =Jumalalla on onnen ohjat, Luojalla lykyn avaimet= (proverb),
_God has the reins of fortune, the Creator has the keys of luck_. Cf.
Kal. xliii. 337. =Jumalall’ on ilman wiitta, Luojalla avaimet onnen.=
VI. It also denotes the price at which a thing is bought or sold. =Minä
ostin kirjan kahdella markalla=, _I bought a book for two marks_.
=Kauppamies möi kaikki tavaransa suurella voitolla=, _the merchant sold
all his goods at a great profit_. =Ostin matot huokeammalla (hinnalla),
kuin niiden arvo on=, _I bought these carpets for less than they are
worth_.
VII. Besides these various significations which can be deduced from the
primary meaning of rest on, the adessive has quite another use, viz. as
an instrumental to denote the means or the object by which an action is
accomplished. It would seem that two originally distinct forms have been
confused in the case as it at present exists in Finnish, though it might
be possible to derive this instrumental meaning from the metaphorical
uses quoted under III. =Näin sen omilla silmilläni=, _I saw it with my
own eyes_. =Oillä päivät jatketaan, virsillä vähät oluet= (proverb), _the
days are lengthened by the nights, and a little beer goes further if one
sings_. =Elä koukulla kohenna, kärryksellä käännyttele= (Kal. xxiii.
401-2)—=Kansalla karhukin kaadetaan= (proverb).
VIII. From this use is derived another, signifying the way in which
anything is done. =Ilolla=, _joyfully_. =Monella tavalla=, _in many
ways_; =ei millään tavalla=, _in no way at all_. =Sen teen mielelläni=,
_I do it with pleasure_.
_Ablative._
I. The ablative expresses motion from the surface of anything. =Lapsi
putosi pöydältä=, _the child fell from the table_. =Ei köyhä korkealta
kaadu, luudan päältä lattialle=, _the poor cannot have a great fall: only
as high as a besom from the floor_ (proverb). =Korkealta kakko lenti
... Allit aalloilta syviltä, Joutsenet sulilta soilta=, _the eagle flew
from high, the wild duck from the deep waves, the swans from the watery
marshes_.