Asettaa

Asettaa is a Finnish verb with a broad range of meanings centered on placing, setting, or arranging. It can refer to physically putting something in a location, but it is also used for establishing positions, conditions, rules, or plans, and for presenting or proposing something such as a question or a claim. In addition to concrete placement, the verb covers figurative uses like setting objectives or limits and appointing people to roles.

In physical contexts, asettaa typically means to place or set something in a specific position, for example by laying an item down or arranging objects in order. In abstract uses, it covers setting goals (asettaa tavoitteet), imposing conditions or restrictions (asettaa ehtoja, asettaa rajoja), posing questions (asettaa kysymyksiä), or declaring a plan or rule. It can also mean to appoint someone to a position (asettaa johtaja) or to indict someone in a legal sense (asettaa syytteeseen). The expression environment often combines with nouns in the partitive or genitive, depending on construction.

Grammatically, asettaa is a transitive verb. Its present tense forms are asetan, asetat, asettaa, asetamme, asetatte, asettavat. The imperfect and other past forms are asetti, asetit, asetti, asetimme, asetitte, asettivat. The passive form is asetetaan. The infinitive is asettaa, with related participles such as asettanut. Related words include asetettu (set, placed), asetus (setting/regulation) and asetella (to arrange, to line up more deliberately).

Common collocations include asettaa tavoitteet, asettaa rajoja, asettaa ehdot, asettaa kysymyksiä, and asettaa syytteeseen.