B1 Finnish GrammarPassive Voice
Form impersonal and passive constructions in Finnish using the passive voice markers -taan/-daan and understand its unique 'we' usage.
1Present Passive
Finnish passive is impersonal - no agent is expressed. It's formed with -taan/-daan endings following vowel harmony.
Passive Formation
| Verb Type | Active | Passive | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | puhua | puhutaan | is spoken |
| Type 1 | syödä | syödään | is eaten |
| Type 2 | juoda | juodaan | is drunk |
| Type 3 | tulla | tullaan | is come |
Examples
Suomessa puhutaan suomea.
Finnish is spoken in Finland.
general statement
Täällä ei saa polttaa.
Smoking is not allowed here.
passive prohibition
Kahvia juodaan paljon.
Coffee is drunk a lot.
passive with partitive
Mitä täällä tehdään?
What is being done here?
passive question
2Passive as 'We'
In spoken Finnish, the passive is often used to mean 'we'. This is very common in everyday speech.
Passive for 'We'
| Passive | Meaning | Standard 'We' |
|---|---|---|
| Mennään! | Let's go! | Me menemme |
| Syödään! | Let's eat! | Me syömme |
| Tehdään se! | Let's do it! | Me teemme sen |
| Lähdetään! | Let's leave! | Me lähdemme |
Examples
Mennään ulos!
Let's go outside!
spoken 'we'
Tehdään se huomenna.
Let's do it tomorrow.
suggestion
Oltiin eilen elokuvissa.
We were at the movies yesterday.
past passive = we
Puhutaan siitä myöhemmin.
Let's talk about it later.
proposal
3Past Passive
The past passive uses -ttiin/-diin endings. The object stays in nominative/partitive as in present.
Past Passive
| Active Inf. | Present Pass. | Past Pass. | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| rakentaa | rakennetaan | rakennettiin | was built |
| kirjoittaa | kirjoitetaan | kirjoitettiin | was written |
| sanoa | sanotaan | sanottiin | was said |
| nähdä | nähdään | nähtiin | was seen |
Examples
Talo rakennettiin viime vuonna.
The house was built last year.
past passive
Siellä puhuttiin englantia.
English was spoken there.
past passive
Mitä päätettiin kokouksessa?
What was decided in the meeting?
past passive question
Sitä ei koskaan löydetty.
It was never found.
negative past passive
4Passive Perfect and Conditional
Passive combines with other tenses using on/oli/olisi + passive past participle (-ttu/-dtu).
Passive Tenses
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect | on + -ttu | on tehty (has been done) |
| Pluperfect | oli + -ttu | oli tehty (had been done) |
| Conditional | olisi + -ttu | olisi tehty (would be done) |
| Cond. perf. | olisi + -ttu | olisi pitänyt tehdä |
Examples
Työ on jo tehty.
The work has already been done.
passive perfect
Kirja oli kirjoitettu ennen sotaa.
The book had been written before the war.
passive pluperfect
Se olisi pitänyt tehdä aikaisemmin.
It should have been done earlier.
conditional perfect
Jos olisi tiedetty, olisi toimittu toisin.
If it had been known, things would have been done differently.
past conditional passive