-taan/-tään

Passive Present (-taan/-tään)

Level 2

The Finnish passive present (-taan/-tään) describes actions where the person doing them isn't specified (like 'it is done' or 'people do'). In everyday speech, it is also the standard way to say 'we do' and to make suggestions like 'let's go'.

How It Works

The passive present is one of the most versatile forms in Finnish. It serves three main purposes:

  • Impersonal Voice: Used when the actor is unknown or irrelevant (e.g., 'Coffee is drunk in Finland').
  • Colloquial 'We': In spoken Finnish, me + passive replaces the formal first-person plural.
  • Suggestions: It acts as a 'Let's...' command (e.g., Syödään! - Let's eat!).

Formation Rules:
1. Verb Type 1: Use the weak stem (the minä-form without the -n). If the stem ends in -a/-ä, change it to -e before adding -taan/-tään. (e.g., antaa → anna- → annetaan).
2. Verb Types 2–6: Add -an/-än directly to the infinitive (dictionary form). (e.g., syödä → syödään, mennä → mennään).
3. Negative: The negative passive is formed by using the word ei followed by the passive stem (the passive form without the final -an/-än). (e.g., ei mennä, ei syödä).

Important Note on Objects: In a positive passive sentence, the object is usually in the nominative (basic form) or partitive, but never the genitive -n form. However, personal pronouns are an exception and keep their -t ending (e.g., Hänet nähdään).

Examples (4)

  1. Suomessa juodaan paljon kahvia.

    In Finland, a lot of coffee is drunk (people drink a lot of coffee).

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

    This shows the impersonal use. The verb 'juoda' (Type 2) adds -an to the infinitive.

  2. Me mennään huomenna elokuviin.

    We are going to the movies tomorrow.

    Word by Word: We go tomorrow to-movies.

    This is the standard spoken way to say 'we'. In formal Finnish, this would be 'Me menemme'.

  3. Nyt aloitetaan työ!

    Let's start the work now!

    Word by Word: Now is-started work!

    The verb 'aloittaa' (Type 1) changes its 'a' to 'e' (aloitetaan) and uses the weak grade 't'.

  4. Täällä puhutaan suomea.

    Finnish is spoken here.

    Word by Word: Here is-spoken Finnish.

    The object 'suomea' is in the partitive because the action is ongoing/general.

Common Mistakes

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

    Syödään omenan.
    Syödään omena.

    In passive sentences, the 'total object' stays in the nominative form (omena) rather than taking the genitive -n (omenan).

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

    Autataan häntä.
    Autetaan häntä.

    When forming the passive of Verb Type 1, the final -a or -ä of the stem must change to -e before adding the ending -taan/-tään.

  • Using the passive for non-human agents.

    Puu kaadetaan tuulessa.
    Tuuli kaataa puun.

    The Finnish passive implies a human did the action. If the wind blew the tree down, you must use an active sentence.

How It Connects

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-taan/-täänLevel 2Passive Present (-taan/-tään)

Learn This First

To form the Finnish passive present, you need to understand how different verb types behave, how vowel harmony determines the suffix ending (-taan vs -tään), and how consonant gradation affects the stem (the passive always uses the strong grade).

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Patterns that build on this one.