In a previous lesson, you learned to use lienee (probably is) to make educated guesses about the present. To speculate about what probably happened in the past, Finnish uses the perfect potential.
The Perfect Potential (Singular)
To say what a single person or thing probably did, use lienee followed by the main verb's active past participle. This is the same participle used in the standard perfect tense, ending in -nut or -nyt.
| The ancient civilization probably disappeared, and this mystery interests us. | Muinainen sivilisaatio lienee kadonnut, ja tämä mysteeri kiinnostaa meitä. |
| This distant civilization probably built a large pyramid. | Tämä kaukainen sivilisaatio lienee rakentanut suuren pyramidin. |
Use this structure with the verb olla (to be) to say what something probably was. The past participle of olla is ollut, making the phrase lienee ollut.
| This belief is based on the fact that the theory probably was right. | Tämä uskomus perustuu siihen, että teoria lienee ollut oikein. |
The Perfect Potential (Plural)
For plural subjects, both the auxiliary verb and the past participle take the plural form. Use lienevät along with the plural past participle (e.g., ending in -neet).
| The explorers believe that the Vikings probably sailed here first. | Tutkimusmatkailijat uskovat siihen, että viikingit lienevät purjehtineet tänne ensin. |
| These descendants probably hid the symbol in the cave. | Nämä jälkeläiset lienevät kätkeneet symbolin luolaan. |
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