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Instructive case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In grammar, the instructive case is a grammatical case used in Finnish, Estonian, and the Turkic languages.

Uralic languages

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In Finnish, the instructive case is used to indicate means, manner, instrument, location, or time. It is almost exclusively used in fixed expressions, such as in omin silmin (lit.'with one's own eyes').[1] However, the instructive is productive for infinitive verbal constructions to indicate manner, as in nauraen (lit.'laughing'): He astuivat nauraen sisään (lit.'They stepped in through the door laughing').[2]

In modern Finnish, many of its instrumental uses are being superseded by the adessive case, as in minä matkustin junalla (lit.'I travelled by train').[3]

The instructive case is only marginally present in Estonian in lexicalized expressions. Language reformers of the 20th century did try to revive it, but with little success.[4]

Turkish

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In Turkish, the suffix -le is used for this purpose; for example, Trenle geldim (lit.'I came via train').[citation needed]

References

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  1. Karlsson (2018), p. 264.
  2. Karlsson (2018), p. 265, 353.
  3. "The Instructive Case - Instruktiivi - omin silmin". Uusi kielemme. Retrieved 2026-09-12.
  4. Metslang (2017), p. 302.

Sources

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