The pluperfect passive negative (ei ollut tehty)

The Pluperfect Passive Negative

To talk about what had not been done before a past event, use the negative pluperfect passive.

Form it with ei ollut + the passive past participle (ending in -tu/-ty or -ttu/-tty). The auxiliary verb is always ei ollut because the passive voice does not specify a person.

  • Affirmative: oli tehty (had been done)
  • Negative: ei ollut tehty (had not been done)

In negative sentences, the object of the action must take the partitive case (e.g., rikos becomes rikosta, hän becomes häntä).

The crime had not been solved before the summer.
Rikosta ei ollut selvitetty ennen kesää.
The case was unsolved because the clue had not been noticed.
Tapaus oli ratkaisematon, koska vihjettä ei ollut huomattu.
The detective knew that the weapon had not been found.
Etsivä tiesi, että asetta ei ollut löydetty.
The crime scene had not been cleaned before the morning.
Rikospaikkaa ei ollut siivottu ennen aamua.
The murder was a mystery because the victim had not been found.
Murha oli arvoitus, koska uhria ei ollut löydetty.
The witness had a motive, but he had not been interrogated.
Todistajalla oli motiivi, mutta häntä ei ollut kuulusteltu.

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