Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti, ja ovet on jo suljettu yöksi.

The building was built quickly, and the doors have already been closed for the night.

Breakdown of Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti, ja ovet on jo suljettu yöksi.

• olla: to be
• ja: and
• sulkea: to close
• ovi: the door
• yö: the night
• nopeasti: quickly
• -ksi: for
• rakennus: the building
• jo: already
• rakentaa: to build

Questions & Answers about Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti, ja ovet on jo suljettu yöksi.

Why is rakennettiin used instead of a form like rakensivat (“they built”)?

Finnish uses the passive / impersonal form here:

• rakennettiin = was built / got built / (someone) built
• rakensivat = they built (you must know who “they” are)

In this sentence, nobody wants to mention the builder (it’s unimportant or unknown), so Finnish uses the impersonal:

• Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti.
  ≈ “The building was built quickly” / “They built the building quickly.”

Using rakensivat would require an explicit subject:

• He rakensivat rakennuksen nopeasti.
  “They built the building quickly.”

So rakennettiin is chosen because the agent (the person/people doing the building) is left unspecified.

In Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti, is rakennus a subject or an object, and why is it in the basic form?

Formally, Finnish grammar often treats rakennus here as a nominative object in a passive clause:

• There is no real subject in the passive/impersonal.
• The “thing affected” (rakennus) appears in the nominative (basic) form, not in genitive or partitive.

Compare:

• Active: Rakensimme rakennuksen nopeasti.
  
  • rakennuksen = total object (genitive)
  • “We built the building quickly.”
• Passive: Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti.
  
  • rakennus = nominative object in a passive sentence
  • “The building was built quickly.”

So rakennus is not the grammatical subject (there is none); it’s the object in nominative case, which is normal in Finnish passive when the object is “total” and the action is completed.

Why isn’t it rakennusta rakennettiin, and what is the difference between rakennus rakennettiin and rakennusta rakennettiin?

The difference is aspect (completed vs ongoing/partial):

• Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti.

  • rakennus (nominative) = total object, completed event
  • “The building was (fully) built quickly.”

• Rakennusta rakennettiin nopeasti.

  • rakennusta (partitive) = partial / ongoing action
  • “A/the building was being built quickly.” (focus on the process, not completed)

So rakennus rakennettiin tells you the building got finished;
rakennusta rakennettiin focuses on the work going on, not necessarily completed.

How would you say this if you wanted to mention who built the building?

You have two main options: an active personal sentence or a more formal agent construction.

1. Active sentence (most natural):

   • Työmiehet rakensivat rakennuksen nopeasti.
     “The workers built the building quickly.”

   • Rakennusliike rakensi rakennuksen nopeasti.
     “The construction company built the building quickly.”

2. Agent participle construction (formal/written style):

   • Rakennus on työmiehien rakentama.
     “The building is (one) built by the workers.”

Finnish usually prefers the active form with an explicit subject rather than a passive with a “by X” phrase.
So instead of forcing something like Rakennus rakennettiin työmiehien toimesta, you’d typically just say Työmiehet rakensivat rakennuksen.

Why is it ovet on jo suljettu, not ovet ovat suljettu or ovet ovat suljetut?

The sentence uses the passive perfect:

• ovet on suljettu
  literally: “the doors have been closed (by someone)”

Structure:

• on = 3rd person singular of olla (be/have), used with the passive
• suljettu = passive past participle of sulkea “to close”

Even though ovet is plural, on stays singular because it belongs to the impersonal passive construction, not to ovet.

About the alternatives:

• ovet ovat suljettu – incorrect: the participle doesn’t agree in number/case.
• ovet ovat suljetut – correct, but different:
  • This is not passive; suljetut works like an adjective:
  • “The doors are closed” (describing their state, not who closed them).

So:

• ovet on suljettu ≈ “The doors have been closed (by someone).”
• ovet ovat suljetut ≈ “The doors are closed.” (state)

What is the difference between ovet on suljettu and ovet suljettiin?

The difference is mainly aspect and focus:

• Ovet on suljettu.

  • Passive perfect.
  • Focus on the result: the doors are now in a “closed” state.
  • ≈ “The doors have been closed.”

• Ovet suljettiin.

  • Passive preterite (simple past).
  • Focus on the event of closing in the past.
  • ≈ “The doors were closed” / “They closed the doors.”

If you want to emphasize the current situation (“they are now closed, you can’t go in”), ovet on suljettu is more natural.
If you are narrating what happened earlier, ovet suljettiin fits better.

What does yöksi literally mean, and what is the function of the ending -ksi?

Yöksi comes from yö (night) + -ksi.

The ending -ksi is the translative case, often meaning:

• “into / to / for (a state, role, time span)”

Here:

• yöksi = “for the night”

So ovet on jo suljettu yöksi is literally:

• “The doors have already been closed for the night.”

Other examples with -ksi:

• valmiiksi – “(into the state of) being ready”
  
  • Tein läksyt valmiiksi. – “I finished my homework.”
• kahdeksi tunniksi – “for two hours”
  
  • Menemme kahdeksi tunniksi. – “We’re going for two hours.”

Could the position of jo be different? For example, can you say Ovet on suljettu jo yöksi?

Yes, jo (“already”) has some flexibility, but the most neutral place is before the participle:

• Ovet on jo suljettu yöksi. (standard, very natural)

Other options:

• Ovet on suljettu jo yöksi.
  
  • Grammatically fine.
  • Slightly more emphasis on for the night being already arranged or decided.

Putting jo at the beginning:

• Jo ovet on suljettu yöksi.
  
  • Possible, but sounds a bit dramatic or emphatic in written language, like: “Already the doors have been closed for the night.”

For everyday Finnish, ovet on jo suljettu yöksi is the default.

Why is there a comma before ja in ..., ja ovet on jo suljettu yöksi. when English might omit the comma before “and”?

Finnish comma rules differ from English.

In standard written Finnish, you normally place a comma between two independent clauses, even if they are joined by ja (“and”) or mutta (“but”), etc.

Here we have two finite verbs with their own clauses:

1. Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti,
2. ja ovet on jo suljettu yöksi.

Each clause has its own predicate (rakennettiin, on suljettu), so they are separated by a comma.

In English you could write it with or without a comma (“..., and the doors have already been closed for the night.”), but in Finnish the comma is standard in this situation.

Why does the first part use simple past (rakennettiin) while the second uses perfect (on suljettu)? Could we make them match?

The tense choice reflects time and relevance:

• Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti

  • Simple past passive: the building work happened earlier and is treated as a completed past event.

• ovet on jo suljettu yöksi

  • Passive perfect: something was done recently, and the result still matters now (the doors are currently closed).

This mix is very natural:

“The building was built quickly, and the doors have already been closed for the night.”

You could use past in both:

• Rakennus rakennettiin nopeasti, ja ovet suljettiin yöksi.
  “The building was built quickly, and the doors were (then) closed for the night.”

Now both actions are narrated as completed past events, with less emphasis on the present state of the doors.

How is rakennettiin formed from the verb rakentaa?

Rakentaa is a type‑1 verb (-taa).
Passive forms follow a regular pattern with some consonant gradation:

• Present passive: rakennetaan
• Past passive: rakennettiin

Formation (simplified):

1. Start from the verb rakentaa.
2. For type‑1 verbs:
   • Present passive ending: -taan → rakennetaan
   • Past passive ending: -ttiin → rakennettiin
3. Consonant gradation: the t in the stem becomes nn in the passive:
   • rakentaa → raken-
     • nn
       • e
         • taan / tiin
   • → rakennetaan, rakennettiin

So rakennettiin is the past passive form of rakentaa:
“(it) was built / (they) built.”

How might this sentence look in more colloquial spoken Finnish?

In everyday speech, several things often change:

• Adverbs may shorten: nopeasti → nopeesti
• on may merge in fast speech, but is still written on
• yöksi → yöks
• People might use kiinni instead of suljettu

Possible spoken-style versions:

• Rakennus rakennettiin nopeesti ja ovet on jo suljettu yöks.
• Very colloquial:
  Rakennus rakennettiin nopeesti ja ovet on jo kiinni yöks.

The original is perfectly fine in neutral written language; the versions above reflect relaxed spoken Finnish.