-ttiin

Passive Past (-ttiin)

Level 3

The passive past tense (-ttiin / -tiin) describes actions that happened in the past without naming a specific subject (e.g., 'it was done'). In spoken Finnish, it is the standard way to say 'we did'.

How It Works

The passive past is one of the most versatile forms in Finnish. It serves two primary roles:

1. Impersonal Past: Used when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
Example: Talo maalattiin. (The house was painted.)

2. Spoken 'We': In spoken Finnish, the first-person plural (me) is almost always paired with the passive form instead of the standard ending.
Example: Me syötiin. (We ate.) In the negative, spoken Finnish uses 'me ei' + the passive past participle (e.g., me ei syöty).

Formation Rules:

  • Verb Type 1: Use the weak stem. If the stem ends in -a/-ä, change it to -e before adding -ttiin (ostaa → ostettiin). If the stem ends in -o, -u, -y, -i, the vowel does not change (sanoa → sanottiin, oppia → opittiin).
  • Verb Types 2 & 3: Remove the last two letters of the infinitive and add -tiin. (syödä → syötiin; mennä → mentiin).
  • Verb Types 4, 5, & 6: Add -tiin to the infinitive stem (the form ending in -t). The resulting double 'tt' comes from the stem's 't' plus the suffix's 't'. (haluta → halut- + -tiin = haluttiin).

Object Rule: In a passive sentence, the partitive object remains in the partitive (e.g., Luettiin kirjaa). However, a 'total object' stays in the nominative case (e.g., Kirja ostettiin). Personal pronouns are an exception and must take the -t ending (e.g., Hänet nähtiin).

Examples (5)

  1. Talo rakennettiin vuonna 1990.

    The house was built in 1990.

    Word by Word: House was-built year-in 1990.

    A classic impersonal use where the specific builders are not mentioned.

  2. Me mentiin eilen ravintolaan.

    We went to a restaurant yesterday.

    Word by Word: We went yesterday restaurant-into.

    This uses the passive form 'mentiin' to represent 'we' in a casual, spoken context.

  3. Hänet nähtiin kaupungilla.

    He/she was seen in town.

    Word by Word: Him/her was-seen town-on.

    Personal pronouns like 'hän' take the -t ending (accusative) even in passive sentences.

  4. Ovi avattiin avaimella.

    The door was opened with a key.

    Word by Word: Door was-opened key-with.

    Note that 'ovi' (door) is in the nominative case because it is the object of a passive verb.

  5. Kurssilla opittiin paljon uutta.

    A lot of new things were learned on the course.

    Word by Word: Course-on was-learned much new.

    The verb 'oppia' (to learn) changes to the weak grade 'opi-' before adding the ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the strong grade instead of the weak grade.

    Auttettiin häntä.
    Autettiin häntä.

    For Verb Type 1 like 'auttaa', you must use the weak stem (autta- becomes auta-) before adding -ttiin.

  • Forgetting the vowel change (a/ä to e) in Verb Type 1.

    Ostattiin auto.
    Ostettiin auto.

    In Verb Type 1, the final -a or -ä of the stem changes to -e in the passive past.

  • Using the genitive case for the object.

    Kirjan ostettiin.
    Kirja ostettiin.

    In passive sentences, the total object is in the nominative case (Kirja), not the genitive (Kirjan).

How It Connects

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

-ttiinLevel 3Passive Past (-ttiin)

Learn This First

To understand the passive past (-ttiin), you first need to know how to form the passive stem (learned in the passive present) and how the past tense marker -i- functions in Finnish. You also need to apply vowel harmony to the suffix.