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Linglib.Fragments.Finnish.Infinitives

Finnish Infinitive System @cite{karlsson-2017} #

Finnish has four productive infinitive forms, each built from the verb stem plus a characteristic marker and case suffix:

InfinitiveMarkerCase forms
I (A)-a / -ätranslative only (basic citation form)
II (E)-e-inessive, instructive
III (MA)-ma-inessive, elative, illative, adessive, abessive
IV (MINEN)-minennominative (verbal noun)

The III infinitive is linguistically remarkable: it takes local case suffixes on verbal stems, mirroring the nominal local case system. Four of its five case forms correspond exactly to cells in the 3×2 local case matrix (see Fragments.Finnish.Case.localCaseMatrix):

The fifth, abessive -matta ('without V-ing'), comes from outside the local case matrix — abessive is a "marginal" case.

This structural parallel — the same case paradigm applying to both nouns and nonfinite verbs — is evidence that Finnish local cases are genuine morphosyntactic features, not frozen adverbial suffixes.

The four Finnish infinitive classes.

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      A case form available to an infinitive class.

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              I infinitive (A-infinitive): the basic citation form. "lukea" = 'to read'. Only appears in translative.

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                II infinitive (E-infinitive): -e- + inessive or instructive. "lukiessa" = 'while reading', "lukien" = 'by reading'.

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                  III infinitive (MA-infinitive): -ma- + local case suffixes. The paradigm that mirrors the nominal local case matrix. "lukemassa" = 'reading' (at it), "lukemasta" = 'from reading', "lukemaan" = 'to read' (goal), "lukemalla" = 'by reading', "lukematta" = 'without reading'.

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                    IV infinitive (MINEN-infinitive): verbal noun, nominative only. "lukeminen" = 'reading' (the act).

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                      The III infinitive has the richest paradigm (5 forms).

                      A III-infinitive case form paired with the local case matrix cell it mirrors. none for abessive (outside the local matrix).

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                          The mapping from III infinitive forms to local case matrix cells. Four of five forms correspond to matrix cells; abessive does not.

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                            Exactly 4 of 5 III-infinitive forms map to local case matrix cells.

                            The III infinitive's inessive matches the nominal inessive (static + internal cell of the matrix).

                            The III infinitive's elative matches the nominal elative (source + internal cell of the matrix).

                            The III infinitive's illative matches the nominal illative (goal + internal cell of the matrix).

                            The III infinitive's adessive matches the nominal adessive (static + external cell of the matrix).

                            The 4 mapped III-infinitive forms cover 3 of the 6 local case matrix cells (the 3 internal cases + adessive), leaving ablative and allative unused.

                            This asymmetry — all internal cases but only one external case — reflects that the III infinitive is primarily about containment ("in the process of"), departure ("from the process"), and goal ("into doing"), with adessive ("by means of") as the sole external form.