Laittaisiin

Laittaisiin is a Finnish verb form derived from the verb laittaa, meaning to put, place or prepare. It represents a present conditional mood used in the passive voice, and it is employed to describe hypothetical actions where the agent is unspecified or not emphasized.

Usage of laitaisiin arises mainly in conditional clauses, where the speaker contemplates what would happen under certain conditions. It can also appear in more formal or polite statements, proposals, or reports about potential actions. In English, the sense is usually rendered as would be put or would be placed, depending on the context. The form conveys a sense of possibility rather than certainty.

Grammatical notes emphasize that Finnish does not always require an explicit subject in passive constructions. Laittaisiin, when used in this way, signals that the action of putting or preparing would occur without naming who would perform it. The form is distinctive from the active conditional forms such as laittaisi, which would refer to a specific actor in the conditional.

Examples (illustrative):

- If the food were placed on the table, the guests would eat. In Finnish: Jos ruokaa laitettaisiin pöydälle, vieraat söisivät.

- In informal speech, lait­taisiin can appear in tentative proposals, such as a suggestion to proceed with a small action: Laittaisiinpa kahvit?

See also: laittaa (to put/prepare), Finnish verb forms, passive voice in Finnish.