Rangaistaan

Rangaistaan is the present passive form of the Finnish verb rangaista, meaning to punish. It translates roughly as “is punished” or “are punished” and is used to describe actions where the actor is not specified, such as in laws, rules, general statements, and journalistic or formal discourse.

In Finnish, the present passive is formed by attaching the suffix -aan or -ään to the verb stem, according to vowel harmony. For rangaista, the form is rangaistaan. The passive form does not indicate a specific subject or person; it conveys a general or impersonal statement, for example when describing consequences or normative expectations.

Examples:

- Rangaistaan rikoksesta. – One is punished for a crime.

- Rangaistaan tekoja, jotka vahingoittavat muita. – Acts that harm others are punished.

Notes and related forms:

- The active counterpart is rangaista (to punish), which assigns a subject who performs the punishment.

- The past passive has forms such as rangaistiin, used to say that someone was punished.

- Related nouns include rangaistus (punishment) and rangaistava (punishable). The language often uses passive constructions to express general rules, legal norms, and objective descriptions without naming an agent.