Finnish Noun Cases - Others

Others

Prolative

This is only found in a few "fossilised" forms in modern Finnish (though it is alive and well in Estonian). Its meaning is "by way of", some common examples being

• 'posti|tse' = 'by post'
• 'puhelimi|tse' = 'by phone'
• 'meri|tse' = 'by sea'
• 'kiertotei|tse' = 'by indirect route', or 'in a roundabout way'
• 'yli|tse' = 'over'
• 'ohi|tse|ni' = 'past me'

The prolative is not considered to be a case in the official grammar. That's because it's very similar to numerous constructs that are used to turn a noun into a verb, an adjective or an adverbial:

e.g. ankka (duck) > ankkamainen (like a duck) > ankkamaisesti (to do something like a duck)