An adessive case (abbreviated ; from Latin "to be present (at)": ad "at" + esse "to be") is a grammatical case generally denoting location at, upon, or adjacent to the referent of the noun; the term is used most frequently for Uralic languages studies. For Uralic languages, such as Finnish language, Estonian and Hungarian, it is the fourth of the locative declension, with the basic meaning of "on"—for example, Estonian laud (table) and laual (on the table), Hungarian asztal and asztalnál (at the table).[However, unlike its Finnic relatives, the adessive in Hungarian does not specifically have the meaning "on (top of)".] It is also used as an instrumental case in Finnish.
For Finnish language, the suffix is -lla/-llä, e.g. pöytä (table) and pöydällä (on the table). In addition, it can specify "being around the place", as in koululla (at the school including the schoolyard), as contrasted with the inessive koulussa (in the school, inside the building).
In Estonian, the ending -l is added to the genitive case, e.g. laud (table) - laual (on the table). Besides the meaning "on", this case is also used to indicate ownership. For example, "mehel on auto" means "the man owns a car".
As the Uralic languages don't possess the verb "to have", the concept is expressed as a subject in the adessive case + on (for example, minulla on, "I have", literally "at me is").
The other locative cases in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian are:
Finnish
The Finnish adessive case has the word ending -lla or -llä (according to the rules of
vowel harmony). It is usually added to nouns and associated adjectives.
It is used in the following ways.
-
Expressing the static state of being on the surface of something.
- Possible English meanings of on, on top of, or atop
- : Kynä on pöydällä - The pen is on the table.
-
As an existential clause with the verb olla (to be) to express possession
- This is the Finnish way to express the English verb to have
- :Meillä on koira. = We have a dog. ('on our (possession, responsibility, etc.) is dog')
-
Expressing the instrumental use of something
- Possible English meanings of with, by or using
- :Hän meni Helsinkiin junalla. - He went to Helsinki by train.
- :Hän osti sen eurolla. - He bought it for a Euro.
-
In certain time expressions expressing the time at which events occur
- Possible English meanings of during, in or over
- :Aamulla. - In the morning.
- : Keväällä. - During Spring.
-
Expressing the general proximity in space or time at which something occurs (where the more specific proximity case would be the inessive)
- Possible English meaning of at
- :Poikani on koululla - My son is at school.
- ::(cf. inessive case: Poikani on koulussa - My son is inside the school.)
- :Hän on ruokatunnilla. - He is at lunch. - literally "on the lunch hour".
- ::(This proximity difference corresponds to adverbial forms such as täällä - "around here" and tässä - "right here",
though they are not strictly a use of the adessive case).
Non-Uralic
Other languages which employ an adessive case or case function include archaic varieties of Lithuanian (which likely developed by the influence of Uralic), some Northeast Caucasian languages such as
Lezgian language[*Haspelmath, M. (1993). A grammar of Lezgian. (Mouton grammar library; 9). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. – , p. 2] and
Hunzib language,
[Berg, Helma van den, A Grammar of Hunzib (with Texts and Lexicon) (Lincom Europa, München 1995) , pp. 44–49.] and the Ossetic languages,
[* Kim, Ronald. "On the Historical Phonology of Ossetic." Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 123, No. 1. (Jan.-Mar., 2003), p. 44.] both ancient and modern.
Further reading
