Impersonal Perfect
Töö on tehtud means The work has been done. Nobody is named, and on stays the same.
How It Works
This form joins two ideas: the perfect, which links a past action to now, and the impersonal, which leaves the doer unnamed.
- on + -tud/-dud: on tehtud (has been done), on loetud (has been read), on ehitatud (has been built)
- Negative: ei ole or pole + -tud: Seda pole veel otsustatud.
On never changes, even when the thing is plural: Aknad on pestud.
Objects follow the same rules as in the impersonal past. A whole object is nominative (Siia on ehitatud uus kool.), a partial or negated one is partitive (Seda raamatut on palju loetud.), and mina, sina, meie and teie are partitive: Mind on kutsutud pulma.
Do not confuse -tud with -nud. Ta on teinud means he has done, while on tehtud means has been done.
Sometimes the same words describe a state rather than an action: Uks on suletud can mean the door has been closed, or simply the door is closed.
Examples (6)
- Töö on tehtud.
The work has been done.
On plus tehtud. The work is finished now.
- Seda raamatut on palju loetud.
This book has been read a lot.
The object is partitive because the reading is ongoing and repeated.
- Seda pole veel otsustatud.
That has not been decided yet.
The negative uses pole.
- Kas arve on juba makstud?
Has the bill been paid already?
- Siia on ehitatud uus kool.
A new school has been built here.
Uus kool is a whole object in the nominative.
- Mind on kutsutud pulma.
I have been invited to a wedding.
Mina becomes the partitive mind.
Common Mistakes
Using the -nud form instead of -tud.
Töö on tehnud.Töö on tehtud.On tehnud is not a form. The -nud form is teinud, and on teinud means has done, with a doer as subject. For has been done, use -tud.
Using mina as the object.
Mina on kutsutud pulma.Mind on kutsutud pulma.With an impersonal verb, mina, sina, meie and teie are always partitive objects.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The impersonal perfect is on plus -tud.
Related Patterns
- Impersonal Past (-ti/-di)Impersonal Past
The simple past impersonal, for a finished event at a known time.
Level 3 - Impersonal Pluperfect
Oli plus -tud: something had been done.
Level 4 - Is Done or Has Been Done
The same form can describe a finished action or a state.
Level 5 - Negative Perfect
Pole works the same way in the personal negative perfect.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Impersonal Perfect in Bubblegum
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