Äänestetään

Äänestetään is the present passive form of the Finnish verb äänestää, meaning to vote. In Finnish, the passive voice is used to describe actions without naming the agent, making it common in procedural, descriptive, and formal writing. The form äänestetään specifically denotes that voting is taking place or is to take place, without specifying who votes.

The passive present is formed by adding the suffix -etaan or -etään to the verb stem, depending on vowel harmony. For äänestää the result is äänestetään. This form can be used with both singular and plural subjects and echoes an impersonal or general statement about a voting process.

Usage of äänestetään appears in contexts such as elections, referendums, or internal decision-making in organizations. It often conveys an official or neutral tone, suitable for news reports, protocols, and explanatory texts. In questions, the form becomes äänestetäänkö, meaning “Will it be voted on?”

Examples:

- Päätökset äänestetään seuraavassa kokouksessa. (The decisions will be voted on at the next meeting.)

- Äänestetäänkö kyseisestä ehdotuksesta? (Is the proposal going to be voted on?)

- Siirtäminen vaatii, että asia äänestetään uudelleen. (Relocating requires that the issue be voted on again.)

Related terms include äänestäminen (the act of voting), äänestäjä (voter), and äänestetty (voted, past participle). Äänestäminen as a noun often describes the process, while äänestetään is a grammatical form used to describe an action in a neutral, impersonal sense.