Viitattaan

Viitattaan is a rarely attested Finnish verb form described in linguistic discussions as a hypothetical present passive of the verb viitata, meaning to refer or to cite. In this interpretation, viitattaan would roughly translate as “it is referred to” or “one refers to it,” and it appears mainly in morphology-focused contexts rather than in everyday language.

Etymology and formation: The proposed form would be built from the stem viita- with the standard Finnish passive suffix -taan, producing viitattaan. However, standard modern Finnish typically uses forms such as viitataan or viitetään to express the present passive for this verb. Viitattaan is thus not common in contemporary prose and is mostly found in didactic examples, grammar notes, or historical texts illustrating possible passive derivations.

Usage and notes: In teaching materials, viitattaan is used to demonstrate how passive suffixes can attach to different verb stems. It may carry a formal or archaic flavor and is generally avoided in normal writing. In actual Finnish usage, the present passive forms viitetään or viitataan are overwhelmingly preferred for the verb viitata, depending on sentence structure and regional variation.

Example (hypothetical): Tämä väite viitattaan useissa aiemmissa tutkimuksissa. The sentence illustrates how the form could function in a discourse that aims to discuss references in a passive construction, though it is not representative of common modern Finnish.

See also: Finnish language, passive voice, viitata, -taan suffix. Note: viitattaan should be treated primarily as a teaching or historical example rather than a standard daytime usage.