lõpetanud

Lõpetanud is an Estonian past participle of the verb lõpetama, meaning to finish or to complete. It denotes that an action has been completed by the subject and is commonly used in perfect constructions with the auxiliary olla (to be). For example, Ta on lõpetanud kooli means “He has finished school.” As a participle it can also function in attributive or predicative positions to describe something that has been completed, such as lõpetanud kursused (completed courses) or lõpetanud töö (completed work).

In usage, lõpetanud primarily marks a completed action from the perspective of the subject. It is often contrasted with the passive past participle lõpetatud, which describes something that has been finished, typically as a state resulting from an action performed by someone else or by an external agent. Examples: Töö on lõpetatud (The work is finished). Ta on lõpetanud kooli (He has completed school / graduated).

Morphologically, lõpetanud behaves like other Estonian past active participles: it agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case and is declined accordingly in different grammatical roles. The form is derived from the infinitive lõppama-related stem lõppe- with the suffix -anud to signal a past active participle.

Etymology traces lõpetanud to the verb lõpetama, itself built from lõpp meaning end combined with the infinitive suffix -ta. The word is widely used in written and spoken Estonian to express that a person has completed a task, stage of education, project, or other activity.

See also: lõpetatud, the passive past participle meaning “completed” (completed by someone or something). The distinction between lõpetanud and lõpetatud reflects the difference between an active completed action by the subject and a completed state of the object.