Tanssitaan

Tanssitaan is the passive present tense form of the Finnish verb tanssia, meaning to dance. The word translates roughly as “is danced,” “are being danced,” or, in some contexts, “will be danced,” when the agent performing the action is not specified. It is commonly used to describe dance actions without naming who does the dancing, making it an impersonal or general construction.

Morphology and usage are characteristic of Finnish passives. The passive is formed from the verb stem by adding the appropriate suffix, in this case -taan, resulting in tanssitaan. The form does not indicate a specific subject; the doer can be a person, a group, or an unspecified agent. Because Finnish verbs agree with time rather than subject, tanssitaan can refer to present or near-future events depending on context and time expressions in the sentence.

In practice, tanssitaan is frequently found in event descriptions, program notes, and instructions where the performer is not identified. It can convey a neutral, journalistic, or instructional tone. The construction contrasts with active forms like tanssii (he/she dances) or tanssivat (they dance), and with participial or past forms such as tanssittu (danced) or tanssittava (to be danced).

Examples:

- Illalla tanssitaan valssia juhlissa. (In the evening, a waltz is danced at the party.)

- Uudessa koreografiassa tanssitaan useita erilaisia rytmejä. (In the new choreography, several different rhythms are danced.)

- Kansantanssia tanssitaan perinteisesti talvikauden tapahtumissa. (Traditional folk dancing is performed during winter-season events.)

Tanssitaan thus functions as a neutral, agentless way to describe dancing activities in Finnish.