Illative case in Estonian

When to use the illative case in Estonian?

The illative case (sisseütlev kääne in Estonian) indicates the space or the object into which a motion occurs. The illative answers the questions kuhu? 'where to? whither?', kellesse? 'into whom?' and millesse? 'into what?'.

The illative usually corresponds to the English preposition 'to' or 'into' but may occur in expressions that have other meanings:

• Ma sõidan täna Londonisse. --- I am going to London today.
• Ta läheb teatrisse. --- He will go to the theatre.
• Ta usub jumalasse. --- He believes in god.
• Mees armus naisesse. --- The man fell in love with the woman.
• See ei puutu minusse. --- It doesn't concern me.

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How to form the illative singular?

The ending -sse is added to the genitive form of a word.

Some long words, which end in -se in the genitive, have a shortened version and drop the -se syllable.

The Short Illative

In addition to the usual -sse form, many words have also a short form. The short illative case answers the question kuhu? 'where to? into what?'

The short illative has the endings -de, -te, -he, -hu or simply a vowel.

a) -de, -te

• Ma kolin suurde majasse. --- I am moving into a big house.
• Ma tõlgin lauseid inglise keelde. --- I am translating the sentences into English.

b) -he, -hu

• Laps pani endale sõrme suhu. --- The child put her finger her mouth.
• Äkki tuli mulle uus mõte pähe. --- Suddenly a new thought came into my head.

c) Short illative forms that end with just a vowel usually end with the same vowel that genitive form ends with. The preceding consonant or vowel is often lengthened to the third degree.

• Tule `tuppa! --- Come in(doors)! 
• Õpilane läheb homme `kooli. --- The student is going to school tomorrow.

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