Passiivikuva

Passiivikuva is a term occasionally used in Finnish linguistic discussions to refer to the passive voice as it appears in sentence structure. In Finnish grammar, the more common label is passiivi, but passiivikuva is sometimes used to emphasize the way a sentence is depicted from the viewpoint of the affected element rather than the doer of the action. The passive is typical in both written and spoken Finnish and is used to focus on the action or its result rather than on the agent.

Formation and forms. The Finnish passive is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem. In the present passive, common endings are -aan, -än, -etaan, -evätään, depending on verb class. Examples: kirjoittaa → kirjoitetaan (is written), syödä → syödään (is eaten). The past passive uses -tiin: kirjoitettiin (was written). The negative present passive is ei kirjoiteta (is not written), and the negative past passive is ei kirjoitettu (was not written). Finnish does not have a distinct future passive; future reference is usually expressed with time adverbs or periphrastic forms like tulla + infinitive.

Agent expression. The agent (doer) can be omitted, which is common in everyday usage, or it can be specified with a phrase such as opettajan toimesta (by the teacher) or tekijägenitive forms to indicate who performed the action. For example: Kirje kirjoitetaan opettajan toimesta (The letter is written by the teacher).

Usage and nuance. The passive highlights the action or its recipient and is widely used in official, descriptive, and narrative styles. It often appears in instructions, reports, and headlines, where the agent is either unknown or deliberately deemphasized.

See also: passiivi, verbityypit, agentti, toimesta.