The Perfect Passive
The perfect passive is used to talk about actions that have been completed by an unspecified person, especially when the results are still relevant. In English, this translates to "has been done" or "have been done".
To form the perfect passive in Finnish, you need two parts:
- The auxiliary verb on (is)
- The passive past participle of the main verb (usually ending in -tu/-ty or -ttu/-tty)
| The memo has been printed. | Muistio on tulostettu. |
| The printer has been repaired. | Tulostin on korjattu. |
| The break room has finally been cleaned. | Taukohuone on vihdoin siivottu. |
Plural Items
In English, the auxiliary verb changes depending on whether the subject is singular or plural ("the memo has been printed", but "the trash cans have been emptied").
In Finnish, the passive form is strictly impersonal. The auxiliary verb is always on and the passive past participle never takes a plural ending, even when multiple things were affected.
| The trash cans have been emptied. | Roskakorit on tyhjennetty. |
| The doors have been locked. | Ovet on lukittu. |
Questions and Compound Sentences
To turn a perfect passive statement into a question, you simply attach the question particle -ko/-kö to the auxiliary verb, making it onko.
| Has the new memo been read yet? | Onko uusi muistio jo luettu? |
You will often see the perfect passive combined with other sentences to explain the current state of things around the workplace.
| The printer is broken, but a new one has already been ordered. | Tulostin on rikki, mutta uusi on jo tilattu. |
| We like this office because it has been cleaned. | Me pidämme tästä toimistosta, koska se on siivottu. |