When reading consumer reviews, you will often encounter the passive present participle. It is used to describe things that can be done to something (like "-able" or "-ible" in English), or things that must be done.
Let's look at a sentence with some basic review vocabulary first:
| The user reviewed the manufacturer's new computer. | Käyttäjä arvosteli valmistajan uuden tietokoneen. |
Forming the Participle
The easiest way to build the passive present participle is to take the passive past participle (which ends in -tu, -ty, -ttu, or -tty) and replace the final -u or -y with -ava or -ävä.
| Verb | Passive Past Participle | Passive Present Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| lukea | luettu | luettava | readable |
| syödä | syöty | syötävä | edible |
| vaihtaa | vaihdettu | vaihdettava | replaceable |
| ymmärtää | ymmärretty | ymmärrettävä | understandable |
| palauttaa | palautettu | palautettava | to be returned |
Meaning 1: "-able" (Capabilities)
When used as a standard adjective, this participle describes a quality of a noun—something that can undergo the action.
| Is this apple still edible? | Onko tämä omena vielä syötävä? |
| The manufacturer's instruction is not readable, although it is important. | Valmistajan ohje ei ole luettava, vaikka se on tärkeä. |
| The new feature is very understandable. | Uusi ominaisuus on hyvin ymmärrettävä. |
Just like any adjective, the participle can be placed directly before the noun it modifies:
| The reviewer says that the phone has a replaceable battery. | Arvostelija sanoo, että puhelimessa on vaihdettava akku. |
Meaning 2: Obligation (Must be done)
This participle is also heavily used to express necessity. By combining a subject in the genitive case (-n ending) with the verb olla (to be) and the participle, you create a "must" sentence.
| The user must update the program. | Käyttäjän on päivitettävä ohjelma. |
| We must review this product and its performance. | Meidän on arvosteltava tämä tuote ja sen suorituskyky. |
If there is no specific person who needs to do the action, you simply omit the genitive subject. The sentence then translates passively as "must be [verbed]":
| This defective screen must be fixed immediately. | Tämä viallinen näyttö on korjattava heti. |
| This device is completely useless, so it must be returned. | Tämä laite on täysin hyödytön, joten se on palautettava. |