science

Lative case

Lative case is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lative case rather than just read about it. In short: In grammar, the lative ( LAY-tiv; abbreviated lat) is a grammatical case which indicates motion to a location. It corresponds to the English prepositions "to" and "into".

Key takeaways

Lative case belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lative case to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lative case from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In grammar, the lative ( LAY-tiv; abbreviated lat) is a grammatical case which indicates motion to a location. It corresponds to the English prepositions "to" and "into". The lative case belongs to the group of the general local cases together with the locative and separative case. The term derives from the Latin lat-, the supine stem of ferre, "to bring, carry". The lative case is typical of the Uralic languages and it was one of the Proto-Uralic cases. It still exists in many Uralic languages, such as Finnish, Erzya, Moksha, and Meadow Mari. It is also found in the Dido languages, such as Tsez, Bezhta, and Khwarshi, as well as in the South Caucasian languages, such as Laz or Lazuri (see Laz grammar).

Finnish In Finnish, the lative case is largely obsolete. It still occurs in various adverbs: alas, alemmas, "down, further down", kauas, kauemmas "(moving) far away, farther away", pois "(going) away", and rannemmas "towards and closer to the shore" (derives from 'ranta' [shore]). The lative suffix is usually -s. In modern Finnish, it has been superseded by a more complicated system of locative cases and enclitics, and the original -s has merged with another lative or locative suffix and turned into the modern inessive, elative, illative and translative suffixes.

Meadow Mari In Meadow Mari, the usage of the lative is restricted compared to that of the illative case. Whereas the illative can be used freely in connection with verbs indicating motion into/to/towards something, the lative occurs typically with only a smaller number of such verbs. Some examples of these are: кодаш kodaš "to remain, to stay", шинчаш šinčaš "to sit down", шочаш šočaš "to be born", сакаш sakaš "to hang up, to hang on", пышташ põštaš "to put, to place", кушкаш kuškaš "to grow (intransitive)". In many cases, both the illative and the lative cases can be used with a verb. Note that some of the verbs, such as шочаш or кушкаш, do not indicate motion towards a place.

The lative case in Meadow Mari can also fulfill a few auxiliary functions. It can indicate the cause for an action or under what circumstances the action takes place:

A noun in the lative can express a period of time in which something (repeatedly) takes place:

A noun in the lative can be used to indicate how someone or something is regarded, for what they are held:

A noun in the lative can express by what means something is transferred, relocated, or undergoes a change.

Tsez In the Northeast Caucasian languages, such as Tsez, the lative also takes up the functions of the dative case in marking the recipient or beneficent of an action. By some linguists, they are still regarded as two separate cases in those languages although the suffixes are exactly the same for both cases. Other linguists list them separately only for the purpose of separating syntactic cases from locative cases. An example with the ditransitive verb "show" (literally: "make see") is given below:

The dative/lative is also used to indicate possession, as in the example below; there is no such verb for "to have":

The dative/lative case usually occurs, as in the examples above, in combination with another suffix as poss-lative case; it should not be regarded as a separate case, as many of the locative cases in Tsez are constructed analytically. They are actually a combination of two case suffixes. See Tsez language#Locative case suffixes for further details. Verbs of perception or emotion (like "see", "know", "love", "want") also require the logical subject to stand in the dative/lative case, note that in this example the "pure" dative/lative without its POSS-suffix is used.

References

Further reading Anhava, Jaakko (2015). "Criteria For Case Forms in Finnish and Hungarian Grammars". journal.fi. Helsinki: Finnish Scholarly Journals Online.

External links The dictionary definition of lative case at Wiktionary

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lative case

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lative case claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lative case before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lative case ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lative case

In research: Lative case appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lative case in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lative case is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Grammatical cases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lative case outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lative case in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lative case means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lative case out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lative case in simple terms?

In grammar, the lative ( LAY-tiv; abbreviated lat) is a grammatical case which indicates motion to a location. It corresponds to the English prepositions "to" and "into".

Why does Lative case matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lative case?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lative case.