The Ablative of Respect
When you want to specify a particular aspect of a quality—like saying something is green in color, or dangerous by nature—Finnish uses a structure called the ablative of respect (ominaisuusablatiivi).
To form it, take the noun describing the quality, put it in the ablative case (-lta / -ltä), and add a possessive suffix. Because you are usually talking about "its" qualities, you will most often use the third-person suffix (-an / -än).
- väri (color) → väriltään (in color)
- koko (size) → kooltaan (in size)
- ikä (age) → iältään (in age)
| The new species is a reptile, and it is green in color. | Uusi laji on matelija, ja se on väriltään vihreä. |
Describing Physical Traits
This structure is extremely useful when describing physical traits like shape (muoto) or structure (rakenne). Placing the ablative of respect at the very beginning of a clause emphasizes the topic, acting much like "By its shape..." or "As for its structure..." in English.
| By its shape, the tail is long, and it has scales. | Muodoltaan pyrstö on pitkä, ja sillä on suomuja. |
Nouns ending in -e, such as rakenne (structure) and luonne (nature/character), use their standard vowel stem (rakentee-) when taking these endings.
| By its structure, the tail is very heavy. | Rakenteeltaan pyrstö on todella painava. |
Abstract Qualities
The ablative of respect is not limited to physical appearance. You can also use it to specify abstract qualities, such as an animal's temperament.
| Is this individual dangerous by its nature? | Onko tämä yksilö luonteeltaan vaarallinen? |