Where, from where, where to: three endings
Estonian has no words for “in”, “from” or “into” — it uses endings instead. For places you are “inside” (a town, a country, a building) there are three: -s answers kus? (where), -st answers kust? (from where), -sse answers kuhu? (where to).
The ending goes on the genitive stem, not on the dictionary form: linn → (linna) → linnas, linnast, linnasse. Many common words also have a short “where to” form: linna, kooli, Tallinna, and kodu has its own: koju.
| Word | kus? (where) | kust? (from) | kuhu? (to) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tartu | Tartus | Tartust | Tartusse |
| Eesti | Eestis | Eestist | Eestisse |
| linn | linnas | linnast | linna / linnasse |
| kool | koolis | koolist | kooli |
| kodu | kodus | kodust | koju |
Examples
- Ma elan Tallinnas.
- I live in Tallinn.
- Ta tuleb Soomest.
- He is coming from Finland.
- Homme sõidame Tartusse.
- Tomorrow we are going to Tartu.
- Lapsed on koolis.
- The children are at school.
- Ma lähen koju.
- I am going home.
Common mistakes
- linnas, not “linns”: the ending goes on the genitive stem (linna-).
- koju, not “kodusse”: kodu has its own “where to” form.
- Don’t mix up “where” and “where to”: Ma elan Tallinnas, but Ma sõidan Tallinna.
- Streets, the market, work and similar places take the -l, -lt, -le endings instead: tööl, turul — see the topic on the outer cases.