on tehty

Passive Perfect

Level 3

The Passive Perfect (on tehty) describes an action that has been completed by someone, where the result is still relevant now. It is the Finnish equivalent of 'has been done'.

How It Works

The Passive Perfect is used when we want to focus on the result of an action rather than who did it.

1. Formation:

  • Affirmative: on + passive past participle (e.g., on sanottu - has been said).
  • Negative: ei ole + passive past participle (e.g., ei ole sanottu - has not been said).

2. The Object Case:
In a passive sentence, the 'total object' for nouns is in the nominative case (e.g., Auto on pesty). However, personal pronouns are an exception: they must take the -t accusative ending (e.g., Minut on kutsuttu). If the sentence is negative, use the partitive case (e.g., Autoa ei ole pesty).

3. The Human Agent:
The Finnish passive must imply a human agent, but unlike English, you cannot include a 'by [someone]' phrase. The construction is truly impersonal. If you need to name the person who did the action, you must use an active sentence (e.g., 'Mikael on pessyt auton').

4. Spoken Finnish (Puhekieli):
In casual speech, this form is very common because it replaces the standard 1st person plural ('we have').
Standard: Me olemme syöneet.
Spoken: Me ollaan syöty.

Examples (6)

  1. Kaikki liput on jo myyty.

    All the tickets have already been sold.

    Word by Word: All tickets is already sold.

    Notice that 'on' remains singular even though 'liput' (tickets) is plural.

  2. Tätä kirjaa on luettu paljon.

    This book has been read a lot.

    Word by Word: This book (partitive) is read much.

    The partitive 'tätä kirjaa' is used here because the reading is an ongoing or repeated state of the book's history.

  3. Huonetta ei ole vielä siivottu.

    The room hasn't been cleaned yet.

    Word by Word: Room (partitive) not is yet cleaned.

    In negative passive sentences, the object always takes the partitive case.

  4. Minut on kutsuttu juhliin.

    I have been invited to the party.

    Word by Word: Me (accusative) is invited to-party.

    Unlike nouns, personal pronouns like 'minut' take the -t accusative ending in passive sentences.

  5. Ovi on avattu.

    The door has been opened.

    Word by Word: Door is opened.

    This implies a person opened it and it is now open.

  6. Onko työ jo tehty?

    Has the work already been done?

    Word by Word: Is-question work already done?

    A common way to ask if a task is finished.

Common Mistakes

  • Pluralizing the auxiliary verb 'on' to match a plural object.

    Kirjat ovat luettu.
    Kirjat on luettu.

    In the passive voice, the auxiliary verb 'olla' is always in the 3rd person singular form 'on', regardless of whether the object is singular or plural.

  • Using the active participle (-nut) instead of the passive (-tu).

    Ruoka on syönyt.
    Ruoka on syöty.

    'Ruoka on syönyt' means 'The food has eaten (something)'. To say the food was eaten, you must use the passive participle 'syöty'.

  • Including a subject like 'minä' or 'hän'.

    Minä on tehty työ.
    Työ on tehty.

    The passive form is impersonal; it cannot have a grammatical subject performing the action. If you want to say 'I have done', use the active perfect: 'Olen tehnyt työn'.

How It Connects

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

on tehtyLevel 3Passive Perfect

Learn This First

To understand the passive perfect (on tehty), you need to know how to use the auxiliary verb 'olla' and be familiar with the passive stem of verbs. It is also helpful to understand the general logic of perfect tenses in Finnish, where an auxiliary verb is combined with a past participle.

Words in This Pattern

olla-ttu