Puhutellaan

Puhutellaan is a Finnish verb form that represents the present passive of the transitive verb puhutella, meaning to address or speak to someone. In this form, the action is described without specifying the agent who performs it, focusing instead on the person or people being addressed.

As a passive construction, puhutellaan is used to indicate that someone is being addressed in a given context, without naming who is doing the addressing. The form is common in general statements, reports, and descriptions of social interaction where the actor is either unknown or irrelevant. For example, a sentence might say that a group of people is being addressed or spoken to in a particular situation, such as in a classroom, service setting, or public discourse.

Puhuttelu, the related noun, refers to the act or manner of addressing someone. It can denote the form of address used (for example, formal versus informal) or the social dynamics involved in who speaks to whom. In sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, puhuttelu is a topic of interest when examining politeness, authority, and interpersonal relations in communication.

Grammatically, puhutellaan is part of the Finnish passive system and can be used with or without a specified agent. The construction allows speakers to emphasize the act of addressing itself, rather than the doer. It can appear in various registers from everyday conversation to formal reporting, depending on context and accompanying phrases that indicate politeness, formality, or mode of address.

See also: Finnish grammar, passive voice, puhuttelu.