Abessive case

Template:Short description Template:More citations needed In linguistics, abessive (abbreviated Template:Sc or Template:Sc), caritive (abbreviated Template:Sc)<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and privative (abbreviated Template:Sc) is the grammatical case expressing the lack or absence of the marked noun. In English, the corresponding function is expressed by the preposition without or by the suffix -less.

The name abessive is derived from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "to be away/absent", and is especially used in reference to Uralic languages. The name caritive is derived from Template:Langx "to lack", and is especially used in reference to Caucasian languages. The name privative is derived from Template:Langx "to deprive".

In Afro-Asiatic languages

Somali

In the Somali language, the abessive case is marked by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. For example:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "name"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "nameless"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "clothes"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "clothesless," i.e., naked

In Australian languages

Martuthunira

In Martuthunira, the privative case is formed with either {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Template:Cite book

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In Uralic languages

Finnish

In the Finnish language, the abessive case is marked by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for back vowels and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for front vowels according to vowel harmony. For example:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "money"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without money"

An equivalent construction exists using the word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the partitive:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without money"

or, less commonly:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without money"

The abessive case of nouns is rarely used in writing and even less in speech, although some abessive forms are more common than their equivalent {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} forms:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "unsuccessfully, fruitlessly"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "I cried for no reason."

The abessive is, however, commonly used in nominal forms of verbs (formed with the affix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}):

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without speaking"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without buying"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without caring"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "The train didn't show up."

This form can often be replaced by using the negative form of the verb:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "The train didn't show up."

It is possible to occasionally hear what is considered wrong usage of the abessive in Finnish, where the abessive and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} forms are combined:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

There is debate as to whether this is interference from Estonian.

Estonian

Estonian also uses the abessive, which is marked by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in both the singular and the plural:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without a car" (the preposition {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without" is optional)

Unlike in Finnish, the abessive is commonly used in both written and spoken Estonian.

The nominal forms of verbs are marked with the affix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the abessive marker {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "The train didn't show up."

Tallinn has a pair of bars that play on the use of the comitative and abessive, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Nimeta baar, English page</ref> (the nameless bar) and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}<ref>http://www.baarid.ee/en/NimegaBar/programm.php Nimega baar Template:Webarchive</ref> (the bar with a name).

Skolt Sami

The abessive marker for nouns in Skolt Sámi is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in both the singular and the plural:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "I cried for no reason."

The abessive-like non-finite verb form (converb) is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "He/she went home without saying why he/she had come."

Unlike Finnish, the Skolt Sámi abessive has no competing expression for lack of an item.

Inari Sami

The abessive marker for nouns in Inari Sámi is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The corresponding non-finite verb form is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.

Other Sami languages

The abessive is not used productively in the Western Sámi languages, although it may occur as a cranberry morpheme.

Hungarian

In Hungarian, the abessive case is marked by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for back vowels and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for front vowels according to vowel harmony. Sometimes, with certain roots, the suffix becomes {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. For example:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "money"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "without money"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "home(land)"

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "(one) without a homeland"

There is also the postposition {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which also means without, but is not meant for physical locations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "I drink tea without sugar."

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "I lived without siblings."

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "Did you come to Hungary without your sibling?"

In Mongolic languages

Mongolian

In Mongolian, the privative suffix is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration). It is not universally considered to be a case, because the suffix does not conform to vowel harmony or undergo any stem-dependent orthographical variation. However, its grammatical function is the precise inverse of the comitative case, and the two form a pair of complementary case forms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• Essive case
• Inessive case

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Comparative concept caritive, as defined by the St.Petersburg project "Typology of caritive"
• Glossary of linguistic terms - What is abessive case? Template:Webarchive

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