Translative case

Ingrammar,thetranslative case(abbreviatedTRANSL) is agrammatical casethat indicates a change in state of a noun, with the general sense of "becomingX "or" change toX ".

InFinnish,it is the counterpart of theessive case,with the basic meaning of a change of state. It is also used for expressing "in (a language)", "considering it is a (status)" and "by (a time)". Its ending is-ksi:

• pitkä"long",venyi pitkäksi"(it) stretched long"
• englanti"English",En osaa sanoa tätä englanniksi"I can't say this in English"
• pentu"cub",Se on pennuksi iso"For a cub, it is big"
• musta aukko"black hole",(muuttui) mustaksi aukoksi"(turned into) a black hole"
• kello kuusi"(at) six o' clock",kello kuudeksi"by six o' clock"

Examples inEstonian,where the ending is-ks:

• pikk"long",venis pikaks"(it) stretched long"
• must auk"black hole",(muutus/muundus) mustaks auguks"(turned into) a black hole"
• kell kuus"(at) six o' clock",kella kuueks"by six o' clock"

In Estonian, translative can also express a temporary or random state. E.g. while a nominative construction would indicate working in a job or profession, asolen koolis õpetaja"I'm a teacher in a school", a similar sentence using translativeolen koolis õpetajaks"I work as a teacher in a school" hints at it either being a temporary position, the speaker not being fully qualified, or some other factor of impermanency.

InHungarian,the ending is -vá / -vé after a vowel; it assimilates to the final consonant otherwise:

• só"salt",Lót felesége sóvá változott"Lot's wife turned into salt"
• fiú"boy; son"fiává fogad"adopt as one's son"
• bolond"fool"bolonddá tett engem"He made a fool out of me."

Further reading

• Karlsson, Fred (2018).Finnish - A Comprehensive Grammar.London and New York: Routledge.ISBN978-1-138-82104-0.
• Anhava, Jaakko (2015)."Criteria For Case Forms in Finnish and Hungarian Grammars".journal.fi.Helsinki: Finnish Scholarly Journals Online.