The Referative Construction: "I believe that I..."
The referative construction (partisiippirakenne) is a compact way to replace an että (that) clause. Normally, the subordinate clause's subject takes the genitive case, and its verb becomes a participle.
However, when the main and subordinate clauses share the exact same subject (e.g., "I claim that I..." or "He believes that he..."):
- Drop the genitive subject pronoun completely.
- Attach a possessive suffix directly to the participle.
To build this structure, take the participle in its standard referative form (-van/-vän for present/future, or -neen for past) and drop the final -n before attaching the possessive suffix.
| Person | Possessive Suffix | Present (olevan) | Past (epäonnistuneen) |
|---|
| minä | -ni | olevani | epäonnistuneeni |
| sinä | -si | olevasi | epäonnistuneesi |
| hän / se | -nsa / -nsä | olevansa | epäonnistuneensa |
| me | -mme | olevamme | epäonnistuneemme |
| te | -nne | olevanne | epäonnistuneenne |
| he / ne | -nsa / -nsä | olevansa | epäonnistuneensa |
Present and Future Actions
Instead of saying Hän uskoo, että hän voittaa (He believes that he will win), you can condense it using the present participle (voittavan minus n + nsa):
Past Actions
For past events (e.g., "I remember that I..."), use the active past participle (-neen) minus the final -n:
Mixing Participles and "Että" Clauses
Participle constructions are common in formal contexts, but standard että clauses remain perfectly natural.
When a sentence has both a participle construction and a standard subordinate clause (like a koska clause), be sure to carry the logical subject through the whole sentence: