Question 1

How is the word kannattamaton (unprofitable) formed?

Accepted Answer

It is the negative participle (using the -maton / -mätön ending) of the verb kannattaa. While kannattaa often means "to support", it also means "to be profitable" or "to be worthwhile". Adding the -maton suffix turns it into an adjective meaning "not profitable" or "unprofitable".

Question 2

Why is peruttu used here instead of peruutettu?

Accepted Answer

Both come from verbs meaning "to cancel": perua and peruuttaa. They are often used interchangeably in everyday language for canceling events or appointments. However, peruuttaa can also mean "to reverse" or "to back up" (like a vehicle), whereas perua strictly means "to cancel" or "to take back" (like a promise). peruttu is the passive past participle of the shorter verb perua.

Question 3

Why does the Finnish sentence use on peruttu (has been canceled) when the English translation says "is canceled"?

Accepted Answer

In Finnish, the passive perfect (on + passive past participle) is frequently used to describe the current state of something that resulted from a past action. While English often treats "canceled" as a simple adjective here ("is canceled"), Finnish expresses it as "has been canceled" to emphasize that the action of canceling has already been completed.

Question 4

Since this lesson focuses on the potential mood, how would we change this to "This unprofitable project probably won't be canceled"?

Accepted Answer

You would say Tätä kannattamatonta projektia ei peruttane. The verb perua is a type 1 verb, so its negative passive potential is formed with ei + the passive stem + -ttane. Notice that the subject also changes to the partitive case (Tätä kannattamatonta projektia) because it is now a negative passive sentence.

Tämä kannattamaton projekti on peruttu.

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