Participles in Finnish

Overview

Participles are verb forms that function as adjectives or are used in various complex constructions. Finnish has a rich participle system with four main types, making it one of the most distinctive features of the language at the B2 level. The participles allow you to compress entire subordinate clauses into compact modifiers, a technique that is essential in written Finnish.

The four main participles are: the present active (-va/-vä), the past active (-nut/-nyt), the present passive (-tava/-tävä), and the past passive (-tu/-ty). Each has specific functions and appears in different grammatical contexts. The past active participle (-nut/-nyt) is already familiar to you from the perfect tense — here you will learn its adjectival and other uses.

Participles are more common in written Finnish than in spoken language, where relative clauses are generally preferred. However, understanding participles is essential for reading newspapers, academic texts, and formal documents.

How It Works

The four participles

Type	Suffix	Example (puhua)	English equivalent
Present active	-va/-vä	puhuva	speaking / who speaks
Past active	-nut/-nyt	puhunut	(having) spoken
Present passive	-tava/-tävä	puhuttava	to be spoken / that should be spoken
Past passive	-tu/-ty	puhuttu	spoken / that was spoken

Present active participle (-va/-vä)

Describes someone/something performing an action right now or habitually:

Verb	Participle	Example	English
puhua	puhuva	suomea puhuva mies	a man who speaks Finnish
lukea	lukeva	lukeva lapsi	a child who reads
juosta	juokseva	juokseva vesi	running water

This participle declines like adjectives:

• puhuvan miehen (genitive), puhuvaa miestä (partitive), puhuvassa talossa...

Past active participle (-nut/-nyt)

Describes someone who has done something:

Verb	Participle	Example	English
puhua	puhunut	paljon puhunut nainen	a woman who has spoken a lot
tulla	tullut	juuri tullut vieras	a just-arrived guest
syödä	syönyt	hyvin syönyt lapsi	a well-fed child

Present passive participle (-tava/-tävä)

Expresses obligation ("must be done") or possibility ("that can be done"):

Verb	Participle	Example	English
lukea	luettava	luettava kirja	a book to be read / a readable book
tehdä	tehtävä	tehtävä työ	work that must be done
hyväksyä	hyväksyttävä	hyväksyttävä ratkaisu	an acceptable solution

Past passive participle (-tu/-ty)

Describes something that has been done to the subject:

Verb	Participle	Example	English
puhua	puhuttu	paljon puhuttu aihe	a much-discussed topic
rakentaa	rakennettu	uudelleen rakennettu talo	a rebuilt house
unohda	unohdettu	unohdettu kaupunki	a forgotten city

Participial constructions replacing relative clauses

Relative clause	Participle construction
Mies, joka puhuu suomea	Suomea puhuva mies
Kirja, joka on luettu	Luettu kirja
Työ, joka pitää tehdä	Tehtävä työ

Examples in Context

Finnish	English	Note
Suomea puhuva turisti kysyi tietä.	A Finnish-speaking tourist asked for directions.	Present active
Juuri saapunut paketti on pöydällä.	The just-arrived package is on the table.	Past active
Tämä on luettava kirja.	This is a book that must be read.	Present passive
Puhuttu kieli eroaa kirjoitetusta.	Spoken language differs from written.	Past passive
Itkevälle lapselle annettiin karkkia.	The crying child was given candy.	Present active, declining
Syöty kakku oli herkullinen.	The eaten cake was delicious.	Past passive
Nähdäkseni tämä on tehtävissä.	In my view, this is doable.	Present passive + inessive
Hyvin tunnettu kirjailija asuu täällä.	A well-known author lives here.	Past passive
Tänne tulevat bussit ovat sinisiä.	The buses coming here are blue.	Present active, plural
Unohdetut tavarat voi noutaa toimistosta.	Forgotten items can be collected from the office.	Past passive

Common Mistakes

Using a relative clause when a participle is more natural (in writing)

• Wrong: Mies, joka puhuu suomea, on täällä. (in formal writing)
• Right: Suomea puhuva mies on täällä.
• Why: In written Finnish, participial constructions are preferred for their conciseness. In speech, relative clauses are fine.

Forgetting to decline participles

• Wrong: Suomea puhuva miehelle annettiin palkinto.
• Right: Suomea puhuvalle miehelle annettiin palkinto.
• Why: Participles function as adjectives and must agree in case and number with the noun they modify.

Confusing active and passive participles

• Wrong: puhuttu mies (a "spoken man"?) when meaning "a man who spoke"
• Right: puhunut mies (a man who spoke) vs. puhuttu kieli (a spoken language)
• Why: Active participles describe the doer; passive participles describe what was done to something.

Usage Notes

Participles are a hallmark of literary and formal Finnish. Newspapers, academic papers, and official documents use participial constructions extensively to create concise, information-dense sentences. In spoken Finnish, these are typically expanded into full relative clauses. As a B2 learner, you should be able to understand participial constructions in reading and begin using them in your own writing.

The present passive participle (-tava/-tävä) has a special use in expressing obligation or necessity: Tämä on tehtävä heti (This must be done immediately). This overlaps with other necessity expressions but is very common in written Finnish.

Practice Tips

1. Relative clause compression: Take sentences with relative clauses and rewrite them using participles: Nainen, joka laulaa → laulava nainen. Kirja, joka on luettu → luettu kirja.
2. News reading: Read Finnish news articles and identify participial constructions. Note which type of participle is used and what it replaces.
3. Four-form practice: For each verb, create all four participle forms: puhuva, puhunut, puhuttava, puhuttu. Then use each in a phrase.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Perfect Tense — the past active participle is already used in perfect tenses
• Next steps: Indirect Speech (Referatiivi) — participles in reported speech
• Next steps: Agent Participle — a special participle identifying the agent
• Next steps: Sequence of Tenses — how participle tenses interact