(25) Vasta, the place opposite anything.
a. Vastassa, postposition with the genitive, means opposite, facing. Hänen vastassansa, opposite him. Toistensa vastassa olevat kaupungit, the cities lie facing each other.
b. Vastaan, postposition with the genitive, has the same meaning with the idea of motion towards added, which however seems to disappear in many metaphorical uses. Mennä isän vastaan, to meet one’s father. Minä en ole sitä vastaan, I am not against that. Tehdä käskyä vastaan, to disobey a command. Sitä vastaan, on the other hand.
c. Vastoin (instructive plural) is a preposition with the partitive, meaning against or contrary to. Vastoin virtaa, tuulta, against the river, the wind. Vastoin tahtoani, against my wish. Älkää pakoittako tyttäriänne vastoin mieltä, do not compel your daughters against their will. Vastoin lakia, against the law.
d. Vasten[17] (instructive singular from a form vasti), preposition or postposition with the partitive, is used in much the same sense as vastoin, but means also (1) about, towards. E.g. älä lyö poikaa vasten silmiä, don’t hit the boy about the eyes. Hän sai vasten silmänsä, he got one in the eye; (2) as a postposition with the genitive it means for, on account of. Moni tekee työtä ainoastansa omaa hyötyänsä vasten, many work only for their own profit. But varten is better in this sense.
e. Vastapäätä is used in the meaning of opposite or vis-à-vis, as a preposition with the partitive. Kirkko on rakennettu vastapäätä raastupaa, the church is opposite the court-house.
(26) Väli, the midst, forms postpositions with the genitive. All the local cases are used: Välissä, välistä, väliin, välillä, välille, välitse. Kirkon ja pappilan välillä on maantie, there is a road between the church and the parsonage. Kansan välitse, through the midst of the people. Sano hänelle suoraan silmien väliin, tell him to his face.
(27) Yli, meaning the place above anything, is used in various forms as a preposition or a postposition with the genitive.
a. Yli (1) as a preposition with the genitive expresses existence above an object; e.g. Pilvet liitävät yli meren, yli maan, the clouds glide over land and sea. Yli päämme on kirkas taivas, the bright heaven is above us. We also find expressions like kello on yli viiden, it is after five o’clock. It also expresses metaphorically pre-eminence. Hän on kunnioitettava yli muiden, he is more honourable than the rest. It is used metaphorically in such expressions as yli wuoden, more than a year; maata yli aikansa, to sleep too long. Yli sen mitä ennen on maksettu, what has been paid in addition to previous payments.