Selitettäväksi

Selitettäväksi is a Finnish grammatical form built from the verb selittää, meaning to explain. It combines the participial ending -ttävä with the translative suffix -ksi, producing a word that roughly corresponds to “to be explained” or “for explanation.” The form is most often found in formal or technical writing, where it marks a future or required state of explanation.

Morphology and function:

- Core verb: selittää (to explain).

- Participial element: selitettävä, indicating a state related to explaining (often interpreted as “to be explained” or “explainable” in context).

- Translative suffix: -ksi, used to express becoming or transformation into that state, yielding selitettäväksi.

- The combination is used in predicative positions or within noun phrases to designate items that are intended to be explained or that must be explained.

Usage:

- Selitettäväksi is common in academic, administrative, and legal Finnish where procedures, questions, or findings are described as things that are to be explained.

- It can appear in sentences like “Käsiteltävä asia on selitettäväksi” (The matter under consideration is to be explained) or in phrases such as “selitettäväksi tarkoitettu tutkimuskysymys” (a research question intended to be explained).

Nuances:

- The form signals intention or requirement rather than a finished explanation.

- It is more frequent in formal contexts and may be less common in everyday language.

See also:

- selittävä, the present active participle meaning “explaining” or “one who explains.”

- selitettävä, the present passive participle meaning “to be explained” in its bare form.

- selitys, explanation.

In summary, selitettäväksi is a technical, translative participial form used to indicate that something is to be explained or is designated for explanation within formal Finnish text.