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Finnish

### Verbs of Capability: pystyä and kyetä

When you want to express that someone is physically, practically, or mentally capable of doing something, Finnish uses the verbs **pystyä** or **kyetä** (to be able to, to be capable of). These verbs are especially useful when discussing accessibility, physical abilities, and inclusion.

### The 3rd Infinitive Illative (-maan / -mään)

When you use *pystyä* or *kyetä*, the action verb that follows them cannot be in its basic dictionary form. Instead, it must be in the **third infinitive illative** form.

This form always ends in **-maan** or **-mään**, depending on vowel harmony. You form it by taking the verb's strong stem (often the same stem used for the third-person plural *he* form) and adding the suffix.

| Basic verb | 3rd infinitive illative |
|---|---|
| tulla (to come) | tulemaan |
| mennä (to go) | menemään |
| lukea (to read) | lukemaan |
| osallistua (to participate) | osallistumaan |

### Using pystyä

**Pystyä** is the most common way to express capability in everyday Finnish. It pairs seamlessly with the *-maan/-mään* form to describe what a person or thing can accomplish.

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You can attach question suffixes like *-kö* and the wonderment clitic *-hän* (I wonder if) directly to the capability verb.

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### Using kyetä

**Kyetä** works exactly the same way as *pystyä* and demands the exact same *-maan/-mään* ending on the following verb. While the two are largely interchangeable, *kyetä* can sometimes sound slightly more formal or emphasize an intrinsic, internal capacity.

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### Discussing Equality and Inclusion

Both verbs are essential when discussing equal rights and ensuring that everyone has the capability to be included in society.

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Verbs of capability (pystyä, kyetä)

adjective

adposition

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (tämä, tuo, se)

Singular personal pronouns (minä, sinä, hän)

Plural personal pronouns (me, te, he)

Plural demonstratives (nämä, nuo, ne)

Coordinating conjunctions (ja, mutta, tai)

Yes/no questions (-ko / -kö)

Basic question words (kuka, mikä, missä)

Negation of to be (en ole, ei ole)

The inessive case (-ssa / -ssä)

Double consonant gradation (kk, pp, tt)

Consonant gradation (-ssa/-ssä)

Verb Type 1 (puhun, puhut, puhuu)

Verb Type 1 with consonant gradation

Negative verbs (en puhu, et lue)

External location (-lla/-llä)

There is / there are (kaupungissa on)

Possession (minulla on)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yksi, kaksi, kolme)

The partitive singular (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Quantities with numbers (kaksi autoa)

Negative possession (ei ole)

Numbers 11 to 100 and 1000

Partitive verbs

Partitive personal pronouns (minua, sinua)

Verb Type 2 (-da/-dä)

Partitive for mass nouns (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Partitive for negative objects

Adjective agreement

Verb Type 3

The elative case (-sta/-stä)

Negative possession (minulla ei ole…)

The illative case (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Numbers 21 to 99

Static vs. movement verbs

Verb Type 4 (-Vta / -Vtä)

Verb Type 5 (-ita / -itä)

Genitive singular for possession (-n)

Total object (-n)

Accusative personal pronouns (-t)

Obligation (täytyy)

Into places (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Postpositions with the genitive

My and your (-ni, -si)

Onto and to someone (-lle)

From someone or somewhere (-lta, -ltä)

Telling time (kello on...)

Months of the year (-ssa, -ssä)

Days of the week (-na, -nä)

When and why (milloin, miksi)

The illative case (mihin, -Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Past tense of to be (olin, olit, oli)

The seasons (kevät, kesä, syksy, talvi)

The imperative mood (lue!, syö!, mene!)

The past tense of to be (olin, oli)

The illative case (-hVn, -seen)

Greetings and goodbyes (hei, näkemiin)

Thank you and sorry (kiitos, anteeksi)

Liking things (pitää / tykätä + -sta/-stä)

Temporary states and roles (-na/-nä)

Change of state (-ksi)

Ongoing actions (-massa/-mässä)

Going to do an action (-maan/-mään)

Returning from an action (-masta/-mästä)

Third-person possessives (-nsa/-nsä or -Vn)

Plural possessives (-mme, -nne)

Indefinite pronouns (joku, jokin, kaikki)

Negative indefinite pronouns (ei kukaan, ei mikään)

Commands for verb types 4 and 5

Adverb formation (-sti)

Past tense for verb type 1 (-i-)

Past tense vowel changes for verb type 1 (-o- / -i-)

Past tense for verb type 2 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 3 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 4 (-si-)

Past tense for verb type 5 (-itsi-)

Past tense consonant gradation

Past participles for verb types 1 and 2 (-nut / -nyt)

Past participle singular for verb types 3-5 (-nnut, -llut)

Active past participle plural (-neet)

Past tense negative (en mennyt, emme olleet)

The perfect tense (olen ollut)

The perfect tense negative (en ole nähnyt)

Total plural objects (-t)

Partitive plural (-ia / -iä)

Partitive plural (-ja / -jä)

Question	Answer
accessible	esteetön
wheelchair	pyörätuoli
This building is accessible, so you are able to come inside with a wheelchair.	Tämä rakennus on esteetön, joten pystyt tulemaan sisään pyörätuolilla.
ramp	ramppi
We build a ramp so that everyone is able to participate.	Rakennamme rampin, jotta jokainen kykenee osallistumaan.
On Friday they are able to go to the museum with a wheelchair, because there is a ramp there.	Perjantaina he pystyvät menemään museoon pyörätuolilla, koska siellä on ramppi.
threshold	kynnys
This room is not accessible, but I wonder if I am able to go over the threshold?	Tämä huone ei ole esteetön, mutta pystynköhän menemään kynnyksen yli?
blind	sokea
The blind woman is able to walk alone, because there is no threshold on the street.	Sokea nainen pystyy kävelemään yksin, koska kadulla ei ole kynnystä.
assistive device	apuväline
The blind man is able to read a book, because he has a good assistive device.	Sokea mies kykenee lukemaan kirjaa, koska hänellä on hyvä apuväline.
deaf	kuuro
hearing aid	kuulolaite
When a deaf person has a hearing aid, he is able to listen to music.	Kun kuurolla on kuulolaite, hän kykenee kuuntelemaan musiikkia.
equality	tasa-arvo
Equality means that a deaf person is able to participate in the meeting.	Tasa-arvo tarkoittaa sitä, että kuuro pystyy osallistumaan kokoukseen.
I wonder if they are able to fix the wheelchair on Tuesday?	Pystyvätköhän he korjaamaan pyörätuolin tiistaina?
disabled	vammainen
This assistive device is better than the old one, so the disabled child is able to play.	Tämä apuväline on parempi kuin vanha, joten vammainen lapsi pystyy leikkimään.
We have a ramp, and that is why the disabled student is able to study here.	Meillä on ramppi, ja siksi vammainen opiskelija kykenee opiskelemaan täällä.
He is able to hear me with a hearing aid.	Hän pystyy kuulemaan minut kuulolaitteella.
Equality means that everyone is capable of participating.	Tasa-arvo tarkoittaa, että kaikki kykenevät osallistumaan.