Proto-Finnic locative system
The reconstructed locative cases of Proto-Finnic can be classified according to a three-way contrast (to, in and from a state) in each of the two series of locative cases: inner –s- ("inside") and outer –l- ("outside", "upon", and other grammaticalized functions to denote "possessor", "instrument", etc.), to give the following system of six locative cases.
| System | Entering | Residing | Exiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner | sVn "into" (illative) | ssA (<*s+nA) "in" (inessive) | stA "from (in)" (elative) |
| Outer | *len, *lek? "onto" (allative) | llA (<*l+nA) "on" (adessive) | ltA "from on" (ablative) |
In the above, A stands for either a or ä depending on vowel harmony, and V for an epenthetic vowel. Note that -nA is reconstructible as the Proto-Finno-Ugric locative marker (the ancestor of the Finnic essive case), -tA the separative ("from") (ancestor of the partitive case), and –n, –s or –k the lative ("to").
This system is probably a Finnic innovation, although the –s and –l cases have corresponding forms in some other Uralic languages (Sami and Volgaic; and Permian, respectively).[1]