Terminative case
Encyclopedia
In morphology
, the terminative case (abbreviated ) is a case
specifying a limit in space and time and also to convey the goal or target of an action.
, the terminative case is indicated by the '-ni' suffix
:
uses the '-ig' suffix.
If used for time, it can also show how long the action lasted.
It is not always clear whether the thing in terminative case belongs to the interval in question or not.
The corresponding question word is Meddig?, which is simply the question word Mi? ("what?") in terminative case.
, the terminative case not only was used to indicate end-points in space or time but also end-points of an action itself such as its target or goal. In this latter role, it functioned much like an accusative case
does. This case was expressed by means of the suffix -še.
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
, the terminative case (abbreviated ) is a case
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
specifying a limit in space and time and also to convey the goal or target of an action.
Usage in Estonian
In the Estonian languageEstonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, the terminative case is indicated by the '-ni' suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
:
- jõeni: "to the river" / "as far as the river"
- kella kuueni: "until six o'clock"
Usage in Hungarian
The Hungarian languageHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
uses the '-ig' suffix.
- a házig: "as far as the house"
- hat óráig / hatig: "until six o'clock"
If used for time, it can also show how long the action lasted.
- hat óráig: "for six hours" / "six hours long"
- száz évig: "for a hundred years"
It is not always clear whether the thing in terminative case belongs to the interval in question or not.
- A koncertig maradtam.: "I stayed until the concert (ended or started?)" Here it is more likely that the person only stayed there until the concert began.
- Mondj egy számot 1-től 10-ig!: "Say a number from 1 to (until) 10." However here you can say 10 as well!
The corresponding question word is Meddig?, which is simply the question word Mi? ("what?") in terminative case.
Usage in Sumerian
In SumerianSumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
, the terminative case not only was used to indicate end-points in space or time but also end-points of an action itself such as its target or goal. In this latter role, it functioned much like an accusative case
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
does. This case was expressed by means of the suffix -še.