Kattanut

Kattanut is a Finnish word, the past participle form of the verb kattaa, commonly translated as "to cover," "to set (a table)" or "to include." In Finnish grammar kattanut functions as the lexical part of perfect and pluperfect constructions and can also be used adjectivally to mean "covered" or "set."

Usage and grammar

Kattanut appears in perfect tense constructions with the auxiliary olla (to be): for example, Hän on kattanut pöydän ("He/she has set the table"). The same past participle form is used for all persons; person and number are marked on the auxiliary verb. In passive or impersonal contexts, kattanut may appear with passive forms of olla to express that something has been covered or included. As an adjective it agrees with Finnish nominal morphology when used attributively or predicatively.

Meaning and contexts

Primary senses of kattaa and by extension kattanut include physically covering something, arranging a table, and figuratively including items or topics (e.g., "the report has covered the main issues"). The word is common in everyday speech, written Finnish and media, and appears in idiomatic expressions related to provision or completeness.

Etymology

Kattaa is a native Finnic verb, and kattanut derives from its verbal stem by formation of the past participle. The verb belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family and has cognates and related forms across Finnic languages denoting similar notions of covering or setting.