is done, is being done, will be done
Ovi lukitaan kello 22.The door is locked at ten. That is when they lock it.
Now and happening. English “is locked” is also the state, which Finnish says with on lukittu.
Concept · Passiivi
The passive
The Finnish passive means people do this, and the sentence doesn’t say who. The doer is always human, even when nobody names them: Ovi avattiin is “someone opened the door”, where Ovi aukesi is “the door opened”. That “someone did it” sense is why on + -ttu reads as a state. In everyday speech the passive also means “we” (me mennään), and on its own “let’s” (Mennään!).
Model
The model
Then
Done
pluskvamperfektiThen and done: oli + -ttu. Already behind the story’s moment, so its result is there when the story arrives.
Happening
NowimperfektiThen and happening: the camera inside a finished past, telling what happened there.
Done
perfektiNow and done: on + -ttu. A result in front of you, or everything up to now.
Happening
preesensNow and happening: the action itself, as it happens, as a habit or rule, or still to come.
Needed for Short message phrases.
Taught in Passiivin aikamuodot, Lyhyen viestin kirjoittaminen.
Units
Words and constructions
has been done
Ovi on lukittu.The door is locked. Someone has locked it.
Now and done. Signs, labels and headlines drop the on, but the bare participle is still perfekti: Suljettu, Valmistettu Suomessa.
was done, got done
Ovi lukittiin kello 22.The door was locked at ten. That is when someone locked it.
Then and happening: an event inside a finished past.
had been done
Ovi oli lukittu.The door was locked. Someone had locked it.
Then and done: already behind the moment the story is at.
let’s (go)
Ruoka on valmis! Syödään!Food’s ready! Let’s eat!
Passive preesens with no subject is the everyday “let’s”: Mennään! Aloitetaan!
we (in speech)spoken
Me mennään.We go, we’re going.
The spoken perfect uses ollaan, the passive of olla: me ollaan syöty. Without me, Täällä on syöty is the impersonal “someone has eaten here”. In writing, keep the impersonal perfect standard: Asiasta on päätetty, not Asiasta ollaan päätetty.
Talk soon!informal
Literally “let’s call now and then”. It is friendly and vague, not a promise to actually call. The -el- of soitella is what makes it light and open-ended: “let’s call sometime” rather than “let’s call”.
See you again!
Nähdään! on its own is the everyday “See you!”
Hope to see you soon!
We’ll get back to this!
Palataan asiaan!We’ll get back to this!
Palataan asiaan (literally “let’s return to the matter”) is how a work email says “I’ll get back to you on this”. Palata takes the illative: asia becomes asiaan. Palaillaan is the relaxed “catch you later”, with the same light -il- as soitellaan.
Talk later!informal
Watch out
Traps
- English “is/was + -ed” can mean either row. Ask whether it’s an action or a state.
- A past date doesn’t rule out perfekti when you describe something that exists now: Talo on rakennettu vuonna 1952.
- Kun meaning “once it’s done” takes on or oli + -ttu.
- A bare participle on a sign or in a headline (Suljettu) is perfekti.
- In speech, me + passive means “we”.
Retrieval
Practice
Every item from every lesson that practises this concept, spaced like the rest of your reviews.
45 sentences across every lesson.
Spacing
Coming back
Do a practice round today, then come back in two days. Missed items return first.