Selvitetään

Selvitetään is the passive present tense form of the Finnish verb selvittää, meaning to clarify, determine the facts, or investigate. In this form, the subject is indefinite and the action is described as being carried out, often by an external agent such as authorities or a responsible body. The phrase is commonly used to indicate that information is being gathered or a matter is in the process of being resolved, rather than stating a completed conclusion.

Etymology and related forms: The verb selvittää derives from the root selvä, meaning clear, with the causative suffix -ttää. Related nouns include selvitys, meaning clarification or investigation, and the closely related forms selvittää, selvitettiin (past), and selvitetty (participle). The semantic core is making something clear or finding out what happened.

Usage and contexts: Selvitetään is widely used in journalism, public administration, and legal or investigative contexts. It conveys a neutral, procedural tone, emphasizing ongoing fact-finding rather than conclusions. It can introduce statements about investigations, audits, or inquiries. It is common to specify the actor in the clause, for example, “Tapaus selvitetään poliisin toimesta” (The case is being investigated by the police) or to discuss the process, as in “Tilanteen taustat selvitetään ennen päätöksen tekemistä.”

Examples:

- Tapahtuman syyt selvitetään viranomaisten toimesta.

- Tilanteen taustat selvitetään, jotta voidaan tehdä johtopäätökset.

- Asia selvitettiin tässä vaiheessa, eikä lopulliset tulokset ole vielä tiedossa.

Selvitetään thus functions as a key linguistic marker for ongoing inquiry and clarification in Finnish discourse.