When managing digital files, databases, and archives, you often need to talk about whether something can be accessed, read, or found. In Finnish, this is expressed using a specific participle form to describe a state of "availability" or "detectability".
Expressing Availability (-tavissa / -tavilla)
To say that something "can be done", Finnish uses the passive present participle (which typically ends in -tava or -tävä) and puts it into either the plural inessive (-tavissa / -tävissä) or plural adessive (-tavilla / -tävillä) case.
These forms are combined with the verb olla (to be).
| Verb | Passive Participle | State of Availability | Meaning |
|---|
| lukea (to read) | luettava | luettavissa | readable, can be read |
| saada (to get) | saatava | saatavilla | available, accessible |
Note: While most verbs describing detectability use the inessive (*-tavissa), the verb saada conventionally uses the adessive (-tavilla) to mean "available".*
Let's see this in action with a digital archive (digitaalinen arkisto):
Finding and Seeing Data
Two other very common verbs that use the -tavissa / -tävissä structure are löytää (to find) and nähdä (to see).
- löytää -> löydettävä -> löydettävissä (findable, can be found)
- nähdä -> nähtävä -> nähtävissä (visible, can be seen)
When searching for a database (tietokanta), you might need to use a keyword (hakusana) or a digital search engine (hakukone). A system (järjestelmä) can then retrieve the data.
Backups and Access Rights
IT systems often rely on a server (palvelin) to host a backup (varmuuskopio). You can check if the backup is still visible (nähtävissä).
To interact with secure documents (dokumentti) in a system, you will often need an access right (käyttöoikeus). Without it, the files simply won't be available (saatavilla).