Estonian locative system explained

The Estonian language has six locative cases, descended from the locative cases of Proto-Finnic. They can be classified according to a three-way contrast of entering, residing in, and exiting a state, with two sets of cases: inner and outer.

SystemEnteringResiding inExiting
Inner-sse "into" (illative)-s "in" (inessive)-st "from (inside)" (elative)
Outer-le "(on)to" (allative)-l "on (top of) / at" (adessive)-lt "from (at/on)" (ablative)

For some nouns, there are two forms of the illative: the regular suffix -sse (e.g.), added to the genitive stem, and an alternative, short form, which is either consists of a different suffix (>), lengthening (e.g. >, [ko:l] > [ko::li]), and/or another change in the word. The always regular -sse illative ending is a newer innovation, and can sometimes have a slightly different meaning than the old "short form" illative, the latter having the concrete locative meaning (e.g.: 'into the room'), and the former being used in other structures that require the illative ('concerning the room...').

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