Is Done or Has Been Done
Uks on suletud can mean the door is closed or the door has been closed. The rest of the sentence shows which one.
How It Works
The same words can tell two different stories:
- State: Uks on suletud. = The door is closed (it is shut now; it is like Uks on kinni).
- Action: Uks on suletud. = The door has been closed (someone closed it).
Signs of a state:
- Words for now or habits: Pood on pühapäeviti suletud.
- A simple adjective could replace the -tud form: suletud = kinni, avatud = lahti.
- Olema agrees with a person as the subject: Me olime üllatatud. (We were surprised.) The impersonal never takes a person like this, so this is always a state.
Signs of an action:
- How many times: Katus on juba kaks korda parandatud.
- When it happened: Maja on ehitatud 1930. aastal.
- Negation with a partitive, like any object after ei: Arvet pole veel makstud. (The bill has not been paid yet.)
For the action only, use the simple impersonal past: Uks suleti kell kümme. (The door was closed at ten.) For the state only, the everyday words kinni and lahti are common in speech: Pood on kinni.
Examples (6)
- Uks on suletud.
The door is closed. / The door has been closed.
On its own this sentence can be read either way.
- Pood on pühapäeviti suletud.
The shop is closed on Sundays.
A regular state: pühapäeviti means on Sundays.
- Katus on juba kaks korda parandatud.
The roof has already been repaired twice.
Kaks korda counts the action.
- See maja on ehitatud 1930. aastal.
This house was built in 1930.
A date points to the action. English often uses the simple past here.
- Me olime tema otsusest üllatatud.
We were surprised by his decision.
Olime agrees with me, so this is a state.
- Arvet pole veel makstud.
The bill has not been paid yet.
After the negation arve becomes partitive arvet: the action has not happened.
Common Mistakes
Using the -nud form instead of the -tud form.
Uks on sulgenud.Uks on suletud.On sulgenud is the active perfect: it would mean the door itself has closed something. The door is what is acted on, so use the -tud form.
How It Connects
Learn This First
on + -tud can be a state or an action.
Related Patterns
- -tud Form
How to build the -tud form.
Level 3 - Impersonal Past (-ti/-di)Impersonal Past
Uks suleti can only be an action.
Level 3 - saama + -tudGetting It Done (Sai Tehtud)
Saama + -tud says the result was reached.
Level 4 - Genitive Agent + -tud ParticipleDone by Someone (Ema Küpsetatud)
Naming who did it: ema küpsetatud kook.
Level 4 - By (poolt) in Formal Writing
Some formal texts name the doer with poolt, but careful style avoids it.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice Is Done or Has Been Done in Bubblegum
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