How to say the English -ed form in Finnish

Sometimes my students say things like Tämä on tehnyt Suomessa when it should be Tämä on tehty Suomessa. (This is/was made in Finland). Notice how Finnish has THREE different verb forms that can mean the same as the English past participle form of a verb. You know, the -ed form or something irregular. 

1. tehnyt is an active past participle
2. tehty is a passive past  participle
3. tekemä is an agent participle

Here are more examples: 

baked

1. En ole leiponut mitään pitkään aikaan. - I haven't baked anything for a long time. 
2. Tämä on leivottu rakkaudella. - This is baked with love. 
3. Tämä on kaikkien aikojen paras leipomani kakku! - This is the best cake I've ever baked. 

written

1. Oletko sinä kirjoittanut tämän? - Have you written this?
2. Tämä on kirjoitettu kauan sitten. - This was written (has been written) a long time ago.
3. Kenen kirjoittama tämä on? - Who wrote this? (By whom is this written?)

built

1. En ole koskaan rakentanut mitään. - I have never built anything.
2. Tämä talo on rakennettu 1960-luvulla.  - This house was built (is built) in the 60's.
3. Tämä talo on isäni rakentama. - This house was built (is built) by my father. 

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

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www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Past participle active in Finnish

This one is also called the NUT participle, and it's used in three tenses:

Past tense negative:

• Miksi sinä et kertonut minulle? - Why didn't you tell me?

 Perfect tense:

• Oletko sinä jo kertonut hänelle? - Have you told him already?
• En ole kertonut hänelle vielä. - I haven't told him yet. 

Pluperfect tense:

• Olin jo kertonut kaiken, mutta hän halusi tietää lisää. - I had already told everything, but he wanted to know more. 
• En ollut kertonut hänelle mitään, mutta hän tiesi, mitä oli tapahtunut - I hadn't told him anything, but he knew what had happened. 

The NUT participle is quite easy to form: drop the infinitive ending and add NUT or NYT. In plural, it's NEET.

Verb type 1:

• (to tell) kertoa > kerto + nut > kertonut
• (to ask) kysyä > kysy + nyt > kysynyt

Verb type 2:

• (to drink) juoda > juo + nut > juonut
• (to eat) syödä > syö + nyt  > syönyt

Verb type 3: 

(Notice the slightly different ending!)

• (to go) mennä > men + nyt > mennyt
• (to study) opiskella > opiskel + lut  > opiskellut
• (to walk) kävellä > kävel + lyt > kävellyt
• (to wash) pestä > pes + syt > pessyt
• (to bite) purra > pur + rut > purrut

Verb type 4: 

(Notice the double n.)

• (to play) pelata > pela + nnut > pelannut
• (to clean) siivota > siivo + nnut > siivonnut
• (to wake up) herätä > herä + nnyt > herännyt

Here's a post about the use of the past tenses in Finnish.
This one is about the negative past tense.

NUT participle as an adjective:

• Mihin se tuossa istunut poika meni? - Where did the boy who sat there go?
• Mikä sen äsken puhuneen miehen nimi oli? - What was the name of the man who just spoke? (Yes, the stem of puhunut is puhunee-.)

NUT participle in a referative construction:

• Tiedän hänen asuneen Helsingissä. - I know that he lived in Helsinki. (This one is more common in written language. Usually people would say Tiedän, että hän asui Helsingissä.)

If this was useful, you might also like my posts about the other participles.

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Referative construction in Finnish

I like to call this the end of Finnish grammar. Of course, there's no end, but if you can use this structure correctly, you already know quite a lot! The referative construction is not very common in spoken language, but it is used a lot in written language and for example in hospital reporting.

This is how you would normally say something:

• Potilas kertoo, että hän asuu yksin. - The patient tells that he lives alone. 

When writing, you can save space and time by dropping että, taking a VA-participle and adding a suitable possessive suffix:

• Potilas kertoo asuvansa yksin. - The patient tells that he lives alone. 

What about if there are two different subjects?  If you have someone else telling what is going on, and you want to use this structure, you have to have the second person and the VA-participle in the genitive form, but you don't need the possessive suffix.

• Poika kertoo, että potilas asuu yksin. - The son tells that the patient lives alone. 
• Poika kertoo potilaan asuvan yksin. - The son tells that the patient lives alone. 

If something happened in the past, use the NUT participle. Notice how nut becomes nee before the suffix, which might be a bit confusing.

• Potilas kertoo, että hän kaatui. - The patient tells that he fell over.
• Potilas kertoo kaatuneensa - The patient tells that he fell over. (Actually, kaatuneensa can mean either kaatui, on kaatunut or oli kaatunut.)

Again, there can be two subjects. When using the referative construction, the second subject and the NUT-participle are in the genitive form.

• Poika kertoo, että potilas kaatui. - The son tells that the patient fell over.
• Poika kertoo potilaan kaatuneen. - The son tells that the patient fell over.

Here's a table that hopefully clarifies it all: 

Which participle?	One subject	Two subjects
VA-participle (Same time.)	Potilas kertoo asuvansa yksin.                          The patient tells that she lives by herself	Poika kertoo potilaan asuvan yksin.  The son tells that the patient lives by herself.
NUT-participle (The other thing happened earlier.)	Potilas kertoo kaatuneensa.   The patient tells that she has fallen. / that she fell.	Poika kertoo potilaan kaatuneen. The son tells that the patient has fallen. / that the patient fell.

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Finnish participles in a nutshell

I really like participles. In short, they are kind of like verbs turned into adjectives. They behave like any adjective, so you can add case endings, and some of them you can even compare. Participles are really common in written texts. In spoken language, we often replace the participle with a sentence that starts with joka. Some participles are also used in past tense expressions and other slightly complicated structures.

Lukeva tyttö	A reading girl A girl who reads
Lukenut tyttö	A girl who read A girl who has read
Luettava kirja	A book that has to be read A book that can be read A book that will be read
Luettu kirja	A book that has been read
Tytön lukema kirja	A book that the girl read A book that the girl has read
Lukematon kirja	A book that has not been read

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
– Hanna

Present participle passive in Finnish

Do you remember my post about the present participle active? Well, this participle is almost the same, but in passive. You can also call this form the passive form of the VA-participle.  Actually, the passive present participle is my favourite of the six different participles, because it can mean so many different things: 

• something that will be done
• something that can be done
• something that is usually done
• or something that must be done. 

Here's how to make the form:

The ending is either tava, tävä, ttava or ttävä. Like in passive, the verb type 1 is different from the others as you first make the 1st person singular (minä) form, drop the n and change the possible a or ä into e before adding the participle ending.

• lukea > luen > luettava - something to read, something that will be read
• uskoa > uskon > uskottava - believable
• kantaa > kannan > kannettava - portable, something that can be carried
• käyttää > käytän > käytettävä - something that will be used
• ymmärtää > ymmärrän > ymmärrettävä - understandable

Other verb types are more simple: just drop the infinitive ending before the participle ending. (Or just play it by the ear!)

• syödä > syö >  syötävä - edible, something to eat
• juoda > juo > juotava - drinkable, something to drink
• käsitellä > käsitel > käsiteltävä - something that will be handled or discussed
• pestä > pes > pestävä - something that has to be washed
• siivota > siivot > siivottava - something that will be cleaned

Some example sentences with the same verbs:

• Mulla ei ole mitään luettavaa. - I don't have anything to read.
• Se on uskottava selitys. - That's a believable explanation.
• Saanko mä lainata sun kannettavaa (tietokonetta)? - Can I borrow your laptop?
• Tämä kurssilla käytettävä kirja on tosi hyvä. - This book we're using in the course is really good. 
• Se on ymmärrettävää. - That's understandable.
• Onko se vielä syötävää? - Is it still edible?
• Haluatteko te jotain juotavaa? - Do you want something to drink? 
• Huomenna käsiteltävä aihe on vielä salaisuus. - The topic that will be discussed tomorrow is still a secret.
• Mulla on vielä kolme siivottavaa huonetta. - I still have three rooms that I have to clean. 

How to use the essive and translative cases with this  form:

• Hääpuku on pesulassa puhdistettavana. - The wedding dress it at the cleaners being cleaned. 
• Vein hääpuvun pesulaan puhdistettavaksi. - I took the wedding dress to the cleaners to be cleaned.

Notice the cool possibility structure:  

• Tämä on puhdistettavissa. - It is possible to clean this.

VA-participle passive is also used in this necessive structure:

• mennä > Mun on mentävä. - I have to go. 
• oppia > Sun on opittava tämä asia. - You have to learn this thing.
• pyytää > Sen on pyydettävä anteeksi. - He has to apologize.
• lähteä > Meidän on lähdettävä. - We have to leave. 
• tulla > Teidän on tultava huomenna! - You  have to come tomorrow.
• tietää > Niiden on tiedettävä jotain. - They must know something.

Onko jotain kysyttävää? - Anything to ask?

p.s. Check out my post about the participles in a nutshell! 

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Past participle passive in Finnish

Past participle passive, or the TU-participle, is often used as an adjective. Something has been done, but it is not known or important who did it.

• Ottaisin grillattua kanaa. - I'd take some grilled chicken.
• Haluatteko keitettyjä kananmunia? -  Do you want to have boiled eggs?
• Onko tuo tänään paistettua leipää? - Is that bread that was baked today?
• Ihanaa - vastapuristettua mehua! - How lovely - freshly squeezed juice!

The form can be found in complex headlines such as Turussa heinäkuussa 8-vuotiaalta lapselta kesken ulkoilutuksen varastettu kissa on löytynyt. - A cat stolen from an 8-year-old child in the middle of a walk in Turku in July has been found. (I'm so happy for the cat and for the child!)

The same form is used in the passive voice in negative past, and passive perfect and pluperfect tenses:

• Tätä ei keitetty. - This wasn't boiled. 
• Tämä on keitetty. - This has been boiled.
• Tätä ei ole keitetty. - This has not been boiled. 
• Tämä oli keitetty. - This had been boiled.
• Tätä ei ollut keitetty. - This had not been boiled. 

Here's how to form the TU-participle in verb types 1 and 4:

• kysyä > kysytty - asked (Did you know that FAQ in Finnish is UKK as in usein kysytyt kysymykset?)
• paistaa > paistettu - baked, fried (a becomes e if the verb ends with a long a)
• kääntää > käännetty - translated, turned (Same happens with ä. Remember the consonant change in verb type 1.)
• grillata > grillattu - grilled
• kuivata > kuivattu - dried

Verb types 2 and 3:

• viipaloida > viipaloitu - sliced
• marinoida > marinoitu - marinated
• voidella > voideltu - buttered
• koristella > koristeltu - decorated

Common signs and exclamations

This form is also quite common in different signs and enthusiastic exclamations. Whether it is an adjective or a part of the passive construction is not important as long as you can understand it.

• Tupakointi kielletty - Smoking prohibited
• Suljettu - Closed
• Konsertti peruttu - The concert (is) cancelled
• Hyvin tehty! - Well done!
• Hienosti laulettu! - Well sung!
• Hienosti puettu / syöty / pissattu / kakattu! - Well dressed / eaten / peed / pooped! (Sorry, I just had to add these since I actually say them a lot in my everyday life.:))

A temporal structure replacing a sentence with kun

Here comes the crazy part: past participle passive is also used in a temporal structure that can replace a sentence with kun. You won't hear this structure in spoken language, but it is used in official language and literature.

• Kirjoitan tämän artikkelin loppuun syötyäni. = Kirjoitan tämän artikkelin loppuun, kun olen syönyt. - I'll finish this paper when I've eaten. 

• Herättyään hän kävi suihkussa. = Kun hän oli herännyt, hän kävi suihkussa. - After he had woken up, he took a shower.

• Monet säilyttävät oman sukunimensä mentyään naimisiin. = Monet säilyttävät oman sukunimensä, kun ovat menneet naimisiin.  - Many people keep their own last name after marrying.

You need the past participle passive in partitive, and a possessive suffix, when the subject is the same in both sentences.  If there are two subjects, the one before the past participle passive has to be in genitive.

• Soitin äidille elokuvan loputtua. = Soitin äidille, kun elokuva oli loppunut. - I called mom when the movie had ended.

• Vieraiden lähdettyä kävin suihkussa. = Kävin suihkussa, kun vieraat olivat lähteneet. - I took a shower when the guests had left. 

You cannot use this structure for the minulla on sentence type or the elative + tulla sentence, but really, who would want to? I'd like to say that Finnish won't get any worse than this, but I'm not quite sure yet.


Check out the post participles in a nutshell to refresh your memory about the other participles.

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter

Present participle active in Finnish

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't posted anything about the participles, except for this post about the agent participle. Well, here we go. I'm trying to be as clear as possible and have example sentences that I'd actually use in my real life. This one is also known as the active VA-participle. (Update: You might want to take a look at Participles in a nutshell.)

1. The active present participle ends with -va, and it is used as an adjective. 

It is surprisingly easy to form: just drop the t from the third person plural:

• he asuvat > asuva 
• puussa asuva mies - a man living in a tree (in the tree living man)

Of course, there has to be an exception, olla:

• he ovat > oleva
• raskaana oleva nainen - a pregnant woman (a woman being in heavy condition) 
• alla oleva viesti - a message below (below being message)

You can always make a subclause with joka:

• kiljuva lapsi > lapsi, joka kiljuu (a screaming child > a child who screams)

Behaving like an adjective, the participle can have all the possible case endings in singular and in plural.

• Ravintolavaunu oli täynnä kiljuvia lapsia. - The restaurant car was full of screaming children.
• Eikö noilla kiljuvilla kakaroilla ole vanhempia? - Don't those screaming brats have parents?
• Onko tuo se viulua soittava tyttö? - Is that the girl who plays violin? (violing playing girl)

• Tunnetko sä ketään venäjää puhuvaa henkilöä? - Do you know anyone who speaks Russian? (a Russian speaking person)
• Tuo on se mun naapurissa asuva mies. - That's the man who lives next door to me. (in my neighbour living man)
• Tuo sun rinnassa oleva patti pitää tutkia. - That lump in your breast has to be inspected. (in your breast being lump)
• Alla olevassa viestissä on lisätietoja. - There is more information in the message below. (below being message)
• Mun tulevalla aviomiehellä pitää olla hieno auto. - My future husband has to have a fancy car. (coming husband)
• Käydään siinä Prisman vieressä olevassa Alkossa. - Let's go the Alko that is next to Prisma. (next to Prisma being Alko)

2. The active present participle can also be used in a structure that replaces the subclause with että, that.

Notice that both the pronoun (or a proper name) and the participle are in genitive.  These sentences are something that you would not hear in an everyday spoken language speech, yet they are common in literature. 

• Luulen hänen asuvan Helsingissä. 
• = Luulen, että hän asuu Helsingissä. - I think that he lives in Helsinki. 
• Matti kertoi Liisan tulevan illalla.
• = Matti kertoi, että Liisa tulee illalla. - Matti told that Liisa will come in the evening. 

If the subject is the same in both sentences, you'll need a possessive suffix after the participle.

• Tiedän olevani oikeassa. = Tiedän, että olen oikeassa. - I know that I'm right.
• Matti kertoi muuttavansa Tampereelle. = Matti kertoi, että hän muuttaa Tampereelle. - Matti told that he will move to Tampere.

3. If you have the VA participle in plural essive and add a possessive suffix, it means that you are pretending to do something:

• Olin nukkuvinani, koska en jaksanut jutella. - I pretended to sleep because I was too tired to talk. 
• Joku tulee. Ole siivoavinasi. - Someone's coming. Pretend that you are cleaning.
• He olivat syövinään kakkua, vaikka todellisuudessa piilottivat sen käsilaukkuun. - They pretended  they were eating the cake, although in reality, they hid it in the purse. 

Notice that kiva, mukava, kova and lihava are just a bunch of adjectives that end with va but have nothing to do with participles. Painava, heavy, on the other hand has become such a normal adjective that you don't even think that if comes from the verb painaa. Fascinating, isn't it?

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

The agent participle in Finnish language

Here's a question that I hear a lot:

• Missä ne meidän eilen ostamat keksit on? - Where are the cookies that we bought yesterday? (A word by word translation would be Where those ours yesterday bought cookies is?)

The agent participle is formed with

1. the verb stem (strong grade, if there is a consonant change)
2. the participle marker ma/mä
3. a possible plural marker t or i
4. a possible case ending 
5. a possessive suffix, if you want to use the written language

Like this: 

• ostamamme = the ones that we bought (standard Finnish)
• meidän ostamat = the ones that we bought (spoken Finnish)
• ostamissamme = in the ones that we bought  (standard Finnish)
• meidän ostamissa = in the ones that we bought (spoken Finnish)

Example sentences in spoken language:

Notice that the agent participle is always used with the genitive form of a pronoun, noun or a proper name.

 

• Leipoa > leipoma > Missä se mun eilen leipoma kakku on? - Where's the cake that I baked yesterday? 

• Antaa > antama > Kiitos siitä sun antamasta kirjasta. - Thank you for the book that you gave me. 

• Tehdä > tekemä > Mun äidin tekemät lihapullat on parempia kuin nämä. - My mom's meatballs are better than these ones. (The meatballs made by my mother.)

• Suositella > suosittelema > Me syötiin siinä Annan suosittelemassa ravintolassa. -  We ate at the restaurant that Anna recommended.

In written language, add the correct possessive suffix after the ma or mä:

• Missä ne meidän eilen ostamamme keksit ovat? (Notice how the plural t disappears before the possessive suffix. The same thing happens to the genitive n, but don't worry too much about it.)

• Kiitos siitä sinun antamastasi kirjasta! - Thanks for the book that you gave me!

We actually buy cookies quite often, but my son rarely sees them. I usually answer something lame like Ne syödään sitten, kun isoäiti tulee kylään. - We'll eat them when grandma comes to visit. or then I'll try to distract him with the classic Hei katso, tuolla on orava! - Hey look, there's a squirrel!

p.s. Are you already familiar with the other participles?

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 

– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com