-tta-/-ttä-

Making Someone Do (-tta-)

Level 4

The causative suffix -tta-/-ttä- (or -utta-/-yttä-) turns a verb into a 'making' or 'having' action. For example, syödä (to eat) becomes syöttää (to feed/make eat).

How It Works

The causative suffix is a powerful tool in Finnish word formation. It has three main uses:

1. Direct Causative: Making someone or something do an action. If the base verb is intransitive, the 'causee' is the object.
Example: nukkua (to sleep) → nukuttaa (to put to sleep).

2. Curative (Indirect): Having an action performed by a third party. This is very common for services. If the base verb is transitive, the 'agent' takes the adessive case (-lla/-llä).
Example: korjata (to repair) → korjauttaa (to have something repaired).

3. Emotive/Impersonal: Expressing a state that 'causes' a feeling.
Example: janottaa (to feel thirsty, literally 'it causes thirst in me').

Morphology:

Examples (5)

  1. Äiti nukuttaa lasta.

    The mother is putting the child to sleep.

    Word by Word: Mother makes-sleep child.

    Here, 'nukuttaa' is the causative of 'nukkua' (to sleep). The mother causes the child to sleep.

  2. Minun täytyy leikkauttaa hiukseni.

    I must have my hair cut.

    Word by Word: Of-me must have-cut hair-my.

    Using 'leikkauttaa' (from 'leikata') implies you are going to a barber rather than cutting it yourself.

  3. Opettaja luetutti oppilailla kirjan.

    The teacher had the students read the book.

    Word by Word: Teacher made-read students-by book.

    The person performing the action (the students) is in the adessive case (-lla).

  4. Teetin hänellä paljon töitä.

    I made him do a lot of work.

    Word by Word: I-made-do him-on much works.

    'Teettää' is the causative of 'tehdä' (to do/make).

  5. Minua paleltaa.

    I feel cold.

    Word by Word: Me causes-to-freeze.

    This is an impersonal causative use where the state 'causes' the feeling in the partitive object 'minua'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the adessive case for the person being made to do something with an intransitive verb.

    Nukutan lapsella.
    Nukutan lasta.

    If the original verb is intransitive (like nukkua), the person being made to do the action becomes the direct object in the partitive or accusative case. The adessive case (-lla/-llä) is only used for the agent of transitive verbs.

  • Using the wrong case for the person doing the action (the agent) with transitive verbs.

    Teetin hänet työn.
    Teetin hänellä työn.

    In curative constructions (having someone else do a task), the person who is 'made' to do the action must be in the adessive case (-lla/-llä).

  • Confusing the causative with the passive voice.

    Lapsi syödään.
    Lapsi syötetään.

    'Syödään' is the passive (the child is eaten), whereas 'syötetään' is the causative (the child is fed/made to eat).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-tta-/-ttä-Level 4Making Someone Do (-tta-)

Learn This First

To understand the causative -tta- pattern, you need to know how to identify verb stems (particularly Verb Type 1), how consonant gradation affects the root when suffixes are added, and how vowel harmony determines whether to use -tta- or -ttä-.

Words in This Pattern

-ttaa-ttää