Nouns: Ablative Case (from off / from) — Finnish Grammar

This ending takes something off a surface, or away from the person it came from: is off the table, and the same ending on a person marks whoever you asked, borrowed from, or received it from. It is -lta if the word contains a, o or u, and -ltä if it does not.

It is the third of the surface endings — on the table, onto the table, off it — and beyond physical movement it does a job English would not think to give a case ending: it describes how something strikes the senses.

Off a Surface, or Away From a Person

Otan kirjan pöydältä.
I take the book off the table.

pöydä-ltä — the same softened stem as pöydä-llä on the table, with the departing ending instead

Bussi lähtee asemalta.
The bus leaves from the station.

How Things Seem to the Senses

A characteristic Finnish use: to describe how something tastes, looks, sounds, or feels, Finnish puts the quality in this case - literally "tastes from good". This pattern is very common and worth memorising as a unit.

Ruoka maistuu hyvältä.
The food tastes good.
Se näyttää kivalta.
It looks nice.
Tuntuu hyvältä.
It feels good.

Asking or Receiving From Someone

The ablative marks the person you ask, borrow from, or receive something from.

Kysyn opettajalta.
I'll ask the teacher.
Sain lahjan ystävältä.
I got a gift from a friend.
Lainasin kirjan naapurilta.
I borrowed a book from the neighbour.

The External Set at a Glance

The ablative completes the external trio: (on the table), (onto the table), (off the table).

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Finnish course

14 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 61. A few of them, with the words “Nouns: Ablative Case (from off / from)” is about in bold:

Miltä sinusta tuntuu? Hyvältä vai huonolta?
How are you feeling? Good or bad?
Lesson 61
Haluan ostaa tämän kasvin. Se tulee näyttämään upealta huoneessani.
I want to buy this plant. It will look great in my room.
Lesson 384

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