With the exception of anta/a verbs, the passive present can be formed
according to the following simple rule:
The passive present is formed by adding the ending -an ~ -än to the
first infinitive (does not apply to anta/a verbs).
This rule thus covers huomat/a, saa/da, nous/ta, tul/la and lämmet/ä verbs.
The oblique lines in the examples below indicate the positions of the passive
endings proper.
First infinitive Passive present
huomat/a huomat/a/an one notices
osat/a osat/a/an one knows how
hypät/ä hypät/ä/än one jumps
määrät/ä määrät/ä/än one orders
pelät/ä pelät/ä/än one fears
saa/da saa/da/an one gets
myy/dä myy/dä/än one sells
voi/da voi/da/an one can
teh/dä teh/dä/än one does
nous/ta nous/ta/an one rises
men/nä men/nä/än one goes
tul/la tul/la/an one comes
ajatel/la ajatel/la/an one thinks
julkais/ta julkais/ta/an one publishes
tarvit/a tarvit/a/an one needs
valit/a valit/a/an one chooses
paet/a paet/a/an one flees
The passive present of anta/a verbs is formed by adding the passive endings -
ta/an ~ -tä/än to the first person singular stem of the active, e.g. sano/n :
174 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
sano/ta/an ‘one says’; immediately before the passive endings the usual
consonant gradation rules apply (cf. §15.2, rule B(a)). If the final vowel of
the stem is -a or -ä, this changes to -e in the passive.
The passive present of anta/a verbs is formed
(a) by adding -ta/an ~ -tä/än to the first person singular stem and
(b) changing the final -a or -ä of the stem to -e.
Infinitive First person Passive present
present
sano/a sano/n sano/ta/an one says
osta/a osta/n oste/ta/an one buys
etsi/ä etsi/n etsi/tä/än one looks for
kysy/ä kysy/n kysy/tä/än one asks
nukku/a nuku/n nuku/ta/an one sleeps
anta/a anna/n anne/ta/an one gives
sulke/a sulje/n sulje/ta/an one closes
lentä/ä lennä/n lenne/tä/än one flies
unohta/a unohda/n unohde/ta/an one forgets
otta/a ota/n ote/ta/an one takes
luke/a lue/n lue/ta/an one reads
pyytä/ä pyydä/n pyyde/tä/än one requests
The negative forms of the passive present consist of the negation
verb ei followed by the passive form without the personal ending
-an ~ -än.
Affirmative Negative
huomat/a/an ei huomat/a one does not notice
osat/a/an ei osat/a one does not know how
saa/da/an ei saa/da one does not get
teh/dä/än ei teh/dä one does not do
men/nä/än ei men/nä one does not go
nous/ta/an ei nous/ta one does not get up
tarvit/a/an ei tarvit/a one does not need
sano/ta/an ei sano/ta one does not say
anne/ta/an ei anne/ta one does not give
pyyde/tä/än ei pyyde/tä one does not request
ote/ta/an ei ote/ta one does not take
The passive 175
The sentences below illustrate the use of the passive present.
Suomessa juo/da/an sekä maitoa että olutta.
In Finland people drink both milk and beer.
Ravintolassa tanssi/ta/an kello yhteentoista.
In the restaurant there is dancing (‘one dances’) until 11 o’clock.
Tanskassa puhu/ta/an tanskaa. In Denmark they speak Danish.
Ei/kö täällä puhu/ta ruotsia? Isn’t Swedish spoken here?
Nyt näh/dä/än, että… Now one sees that…
Mitä täällä teh/dä/än? What is being done here?
Täällä ei tarjot/a olutta. Beer is not served here.
Pelät/ä/än, että Suomi häviää. It is feared that Finland will lose.
Väite/tä/än, että hän on sairas. It is claimed/they claim that he/she
is ill.
The singular accusative object of a passive verb has no ending (§38).
Huomiseksi lue/ta/an seuraava kappale.
The next chapter will be read for tomorrow.
Kirja pan/na/an pöydälle.
The book is put on the table.
Ovi sulje/ta/an avaimella.
The door is closed with a key.
Auto voi/da/an ajaa pihalle.
The car can be driven into the yard.
In the spoken language it is very common for the passive forms to be used in
place of the first person plural indicative and imperative.
Written language Spoken language (often)
(me) juo/mme we drink (me) juo/daan
(me) kerro/mme we tell (me) kerro/taan
(me) halua/mme we want (me) halut/aan
(me) ajattele/mme we think (me) ajatel/laan
juo/kaamme! let us drink! juo/daan!
kerto/kaamme! let us tell! kerro/taan!
ajatel/kaamme! let us think! ajatel/laan!
lähte/käämme! let us leave! lähde/tään!
