In grammar, the terminative or terminalis case (abbreviated TERM) is a case specifying a limit in space and time and also to convey the goal or target of an action.[1]
In the Assamese language, the terminative case is indicated by the suffix -(অ)লৈকে -(o)loike:
আজিৰ
azir
পৰা
pora
পৰহিলৈকে
porohiloike
আজিৰ পৰা পৰহিলৈকে
azir pora porohiloike
'from today up to the-day-after-tomorrow'
মৰিগাঁৱৰ
morigaor
হোজাইলৈকে
hüzailoike
মৰিগাঁৱৰ পৰা হোজাইলৈকে
morigaor pora hüzailoike
'From Morigaon up to Hojai.'
নৈৰ
noir
ইপাৰৰ
iparor
সিপাৰলৈকে
xiparoloike
নৈৰ ইপাৰৰ পৰা সিপাৰলৈকে
noir iparor pora xiparoloike
'From this bank up to that bank of the river'
In the Bashkir language, the terminative case is indicated by the suffix -ğasa/-gäsä/-qasa/-käsä:
киске
kiske
12-нән
12-nän
таңғы
tañğï
етегәсә
yetegäsä
киске 12-нән таңғы етегәсә
kiske 12-nän tañğï yetegäsä
'from 12 pm up to 7 am'
Был
Bïl
аҙнала
aðnala
32
градусҡаса
gradusqasa
эҫетәсәк.
eśetäsäk
Был аҙнала 32 градусҡаса эҫетәсәк.
Bïl aðnala 32 gradusqasa eśetäsäk
'This week, it will get hot up to 32 degrees (celsius).'
However, postpositions тиклем (tiklem), хәтлем (xätlem), ҡәҙәр (qäðär) 'till, up to' are more frequently used in Bashkir to convey this meaning.
T.J. Meek has argued that "the so-called locative hē" in Classical Hebrew "is terminative only and should be renamed terminative hē."[2]
In the Estonian language, the terminative case is indicated by the '-ni' suffix:
The Hungarian language 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.
In Sumerian, the terminative case -še 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.
The use of the postposition asti (or synonymously saakka) with the illative (or allative or sublative) case in Finnish very closely corresponds to the terminative. These same postpositions with the elative (or ablative) case also express the opposite of a terminative: a limit in time or space of origination or initiation.
The old Finnish terminative -ni is no longer productive, but it appears in the Kalevala: nominative se "it, that" ~ terminative sini "up to where" = modern siihen asti, and nominative kuka "who, what (poetic)" ~ terminative kuni "up to where" = modern kuhun asti.[3] Also, the established phrase kaikki tyynni "every, until completion" contains the terminative tyynni, being derived from an older form kaikki tyvennik "every, up to its base", where tyvi is "foot, base".
The Japanese particle まで (made) acts like a terminative case.