Passive for People in General

Level 4

The Finnish passive (e.g., puhutaan) is used to describe actions done by 'people in general,' 'they,' or 'one.' It is not a direct equivalent to the English passive voice because it always implies a human doer, even if they aren't named.

How It Works

The Finnish passive serves several distinct roles across different registers:

1. General Statements and Instructions
In formal writing, news, and laws, the passive describes what is done generally. For example, Suomessa juodaan kahvia (In Finland, coffee is drunk/people drink coffee).

2. Suggestions and Commands (Hortative)
The passive is frequently used to make suggestions or give soft commands, similar to 'Let's' in English. For example: Mennään jo! (Let's go already!).

3. The 'Human' Requirement
Unlike English, you cannot use the passive for natural forces. You can say 'The door was closed' (by a person), but you cannot use the passive to say 'The door was closed by the wind.' If a machine or nature does it, you must use an active verb or a different structure.

4. No Named Agent
The passive is used when the doer of the action is not explicitly named in the sentence. You cannot say 'The book was written by Mika' using a passive verb. If you want to name the doer, you must use an active sentence: Mika kirjoitti kirjan.

5. Object Case Rules
The object of a passive verb follows specific rules:
• Total Objects: Nouns do not take the genitive -n. Instead, they stay in the nominative form (e.g., Syödään omena).
• Pronoun Exception: Personal pronouns (minut, sinut, hänet, etc.) are an exception and retain their -t ending (e.g., Hänet valittiin - He was chosen).
• Partitive Objects: If the action is ongoing or the amount is indefinite, use the partitive object (e.g., Luen kirjaa -> Luetaan kirjaa).

6. Spoken Finnish Usage
In spoken Finnish, the passive has almost entirely replaced the first-person plural (we). Instead of Me menemme, people say me mennään.

Examples (6)

  1. Suomessa juodaan paljon kahvia.

    In Finland, people drink a lot of coffee.

    Word by Word: In-Finland is-drunk much coffee.

    This uses the passive to describe a general habit. Note that 'kahvia' is in the partitive because it is an indefinite amount.

  2. Sanotaan, että huomenna sataa lunta.

    They say that it will snow tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Is-said, that tomorrow rains snow.

    The passive 'sanotaan' is the standard way to express 'it is said' or 'people say'.

  3. Täällä ei tupakoida.

    Smoking is not allowed here / People don't smoke here.

    Word by Word: Here not is-smoked.

    This is a common way to state rules or prohibitions using the negative passive.

  4. Nyt aloitetaan kurssi.

    Now the course is started / Let's start the course now.

    Word by Word: Now is-started course.

    Notice that 'kurssi' is in the nominative case, not the genitive 'kurssin', because it is the total object of a passive verb.

  5. Minut nähtiin kaupungilla.

    I was seen in town.

    Word by Word: Me was-seen in-town.

    Personal pronouns like 'minut' are an exception; they keep their -t ending even in passive sentences.

  6. Talossa leivotaan leipää.

    Bread is being baked in the house.

    Word by Word: In-house is-baked bread.

    The partitive object 'leipää' is used here because the action is ongoing or the amount is indefinite.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to include the 'doer' with a passive verb.

    Kirja kirjoitettiin kirjailijan toimesta.
    Kirjailija kirjoitti kirjan.

    In natural Finnish, you don't use the passive to say 'by someone.' You simply use an active sentence with the person as the subject.

  • Using the genitive -n for a total object in a passive sentence.

    Avataan ikkunan.
    Avataan ikkuna.

    Objects of passive verbs do not take the -n ending that active verbs usually require for 'whole' objects.

  • Using the passive for non-human agents like weather.

    Lumi sulatettiin auringolla.
    Aurinko sulatti lumen.

    The passive implies a human agent. If the sun melts the snow, you must use the active form.

How It Connects

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

Passive for People in GeneralLevel 4

Learn This First

To use the passive as an impersonal subject (meaning 'one', 'people', or 'they'), you must first learn the formation of the passive present tense. Additionally, since these sentences often involve objects, you need to understand how the object case is determined in passive constructions. Familiarity with the 'zero person' is also helpful to understand the different ways Finnish expresses generic subjects.