Present Passive Participle Sentence Constructions
There are certain present passive participle sentence constructions that are more complicated than the general use of the form. Let’s take a look at three of them and how to use them!
- The “on tehtävissä” sentence construction
- Auto on korjattavissa
- The “on tehtävänä” sentence construction
- Auto on korjattavana
- The “tehtäväksi” sentence construction
- Auto viedään korjattavaksi
1. The “on tehtävissä” sentence contruction
This first one of the present passive participle sentence constructions expresses that a thing or object can still undergo an action. For example, if “auto on vielä korjattavissa“, it means that it can still be fixed.
For this sentence construction, you use the “olla” verb, combined with the inessive case (-ssa) of the passive present participle.
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Brexit-tilanne on vielä korjattavissa. | The Brexit situation can still be fixed. |
| Onko kielitaustani tunnistettavissa puheessani? | Can my language background be noticed in my speech? |
| Virhe ei ole korjattavissa. | The mistake can’t be fixed. |
| Rakkaus ei ole mitattavissa rahalla. | Love can’t be measured in money. |
| Artikkeli on luettavissa Aamulehden nettisivuilla. | The article can be read on Aamulehti’s website. |
2. The “on tehtävänä” sentence construction
The difference between this sentence construction and the previous is fairly small. If “auto on vielä korjattavana“, it means that the car is still being fixed. In other words, the fixing is currently happening but will end at some point. This sentence construction consists of the verb olla, combined with the essive case of the passive present participle.
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Mikä kirja sinulla on parhaillaan luettavana? | What book are you currently reading? |
| Talo on ollut myytävänä jo kolme vuotta. | The building has been for sale for three years. |
| Legoja oli rakennettavana kolmella pitkällä pöydällä. | Legos were being built on three long tables. |
| Hävitettävänä oli 400 tonnia lehtiä. | 400 tons of paper were being disposed of. |
| Pyörä on huollettavana keskustan liikkeessä. | The bike is being maintained in the store in the center. |
3. In the “tehtäväksi” sentence construction
When using the present passive participle and the translative case (-ksi), you can express that there’s a change happening (which is very typical for the translative). If you say “minä vein auton korjattavaksi“, it means that the car is currently broken, and I’m sending it to be fixed (there’s a change happening: broken > fixed).
This sentence construction – unlike the previous two – doesn’t come with the verb olla. Instead, it can have several verbs that express movement, e.g. viedä, jäädä, joutua, päästä.
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Vein puvun pesulaan puhdistettavaksi. | I took the suit to the cleaners [to be cleaned]. |
| Auto joutui kolarin jälkeen korjattavaksi. | The car had to be fixed after the car crash. |
| Pääsitkö työnantajan haastateltavaksi? | Did you get to be interviewed by the employer? |
| Mitkä kengät veit suutarille korjattaviksi? | Which shoes did you take to the cobbler to be fixed? |
| Hän lähti sairaalaan tutkittavaksi. | He went to the hospital to be examined. |
