Ottaa ("to take") is a Type 1 verb and the model for tt ↔ t quantitative gradation — a long consonant that shortens rather than changing quality. The strong grade tt appears when the syllable it opens stays open (3rd persons, infinitive: ottaa, ottavat); the weak grade t appears when the syllable closes (otan, otat, otamme). It is the exact mirror of antaa (nt ↔ nn), and it is one of the most idiom-heavy verbs in the language, so it repays close study.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present 1sg | Present 3sg | Past 3sg | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ottaa | otan | ottaa | otti | ottanut |
Core conjugation
| Person | Present | Past | Conditional | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minä | otan | otin | ottaisin | olen ottanut |
| sinä | otat | otit | ottaisit | olet ottanut |
| hän | ottaa | otti | ottaisi | on ottanut |
| me | otamme | otimme | ottaisimme | olemme ottaneet |
| te | otatte | otitte | ottaisitte | olette ottaneet |
| he | ottavat | ottivat | ottaisivat | ovat ottaneet |
| negative | en ota | en ottanut | en ottaisi | en ole ottanut |
The present gradation is the thing to watch: weak t in every person except the 3rd (otan but ottaa, ottavat). The past keeps tt in the 3rd persons because the syllable stays open (ot-ti, ot-ti-vat) but shortens to t where it closes (otin, otimme); note that here the stem a is simply dropped before -i- (there is no a → o change, because the first-syllable vowel is o). The conditional -isi- keeps every syllable open, so the strong grade returns across the board: ottaisin.
The imperative is ota! (2sg, weak grade) and ottakaa! (2pl, strong); negative älä ota / älkää ottako. The passive drops the stem a to e: present otetaan, past otettiin, perfect on otettu, conditional otettaisiin; negatives ei oteta, ei otettu.
Otan yhden kupin kahvia, kiitos.
I'll take one cup of coffee, thanks.
Otimme taksin, koska viimeinen bussi oli jo mennyt.
We took a taxi, because the last bus had already gone.
The object
Ottaa names an action with a clear endpoint — you take the thing and it's taken — so it very often governs a total object:
Otan sinisen takin, se sopii paremmin.
I'll take the blue coat, it suits better.
Ota avaimet mukaan, ovi lukkiutuu itsestään.
Take the keys with you, the door locks by itself.
But an ongoing or negated action still forces the partitive, exactly as with any Finnish verb: en ota sokeria ("I don't take sugar"), otetaan rauhallisesti ("let's take it easy" — no object).
Idioms: this is where ottaa lives
Much of the everyday use of ottaa is in fixed noun combinations, and these are worth learning as whole units:
Otan sinuun yhteyttä ensi viikolla.
I'll get in touch with you next week.
Ota huomioon, että liikenne on ruuhka-aikaan tukossa.
Take into account that the traffic is jammed at rush hour.
Otitko lääkkeesi tänä aamuna?
Did you take your medicine this morning?
More high-frequency phrases: ottaa vastaan ("receive, accept" — otan haasteen vastaan "I accept the challenge"), ottaa selvää ("find out"), ottaa osaa ("take part; offer condolences"), ottaa kuva ("take a photo"), ottaa rennosti (informal, "take it easy"), and ottaa nokkiinsa (informal, "take offence"). Note how many of these pair ottaa with an adverb-like particle (vastaan, huomioon) that never changes form.
Common Mistakes
❌ Minä ottan bussin keskustaan.
Incorrect — the 1sg is the weak grade otan, not *ottan.
✅ Minä otan bussin keskustaan.
I'll take the bus downtown.
❌ Otta lasi vettä, jos sinua janottaa.
Incorrect — the 2sg imperative is the weak stem ota, not *otta.
✅ Ota lasi vettä, jos sinua janottaa.
Take a glass of water if you're thirsty.
❌ Hän oti kuvan meistä ryhmänä.
Incorrect — the 3sg past keeps tt in the open syllable: otti, not *oti.
✅ Hän otti kuvan meistä ryhmänä.
She took a photo of us as a group.
❌ Otan yhteyttä sinun.
Incorrect — the idiom is ottaa yhteyttä johonkuhun (illative): sinuun, not the genitive.
✅ Otan yhteyttä sinuun.
I'll get in touch with you.
Key Takeaways
- tt ↔ t gradation: strong ottaa, ottavat (open syllable) vs weak otan, otat, otamme, otatte (closed).
- Past otti / otin — tt survives in the open-syllable 3rd persons; the stem a is dropped, not changed to o.
- Imperative ota! is weak; ottakaa! is strong. Passive is otetaan / otettiin / otettu.
- Learn the idioms as blocks: ottaa yhteyttä, ottaa huomioon, ottaa vastaan, ottaa selvää.
Now practice Finnish
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Start learning Finnish→Related Topics
- antaa ('to give')A2 — Full conjugation of antaa (to give), a Type 1 verb with nt↔nn gradation, plus its rection: allative recipient + total/partitive object.
- Verb Type 1: -Va Verbs (puhua, ostaa)A1 — The largest class: drop the final -a/-ä for the stem, add endings, double the vowel in the third person; consonant gradation weakens four of six forms.
- Quantitative Gradation: kk→k, pp→p, tt→tA2 — The easy half of gradation: a doubled stop shortens to a single one — kukka→kukan, kauppa→kaupan, katto→katon — with no change in sound quality.
- Total Object Forms: -n, -t, and Bare StemB2 — The total object wears four shapes: genitive -n in the singular, nominative -t in the plural, the bare nominative after imperative/passive/necessive, and -t on pronouns.
- Consonant Gradation in the PresentB1 — Why the present paradigm splits by grade: direct-gradation verbs go strong in the open-syllable 3sg/3pl and weak elsewhere; inverse verbs stay strong throughout.