Sammutetaan

Sammutetaan is the present passive form of the Finnish verb sammuttaminen/sammuttaa, meaning to extinguish or to turn off. In neutral usage, sammutetaan describes an action where the subject performing the action is either unknown, general, or not specified. It can refer to extinguishing a fire, turning off lights, stopping a flame, or cutting power, depending on context. The construction is widely used in instructions, reports, and everyday statements.

Linguistic notes

The passive form sammutetaan is formed from the verb stem sammutt- plus the standard Finnish present passive ending -etaan/-etaan, resulting in a form that can be understood with an implicit agent. It is commonly used to convey actions performed by someone else or by an impersonal process. Other related forms include sammuttanut (extinguished, past participle) and sammuttaminen (the act of extinguishing).

Usage and examples

- Valot sammutetaan öisin. (The lights are turned off at night.)

- Tuli sammutetaan pelastuslaitoksen toimesta. (The fire is being extinguished by the fire department.)

- Sähkökatkoksen yhteydessä sähköt sammutetaan. (During the power outage, the power is shut off.)

- Ei sammuteta ennen kuin tilanne on varmistettu. (It is not turned off until the situation is verified.)

See also

Sammuttaminen as a noun form for the act of extinguishing; sammutettu as the past passive participle meaning extinguished. The term is commonly encountered in safety signage, emergency communications, and routine maintenance instructions.