ristiriitaisiin

Ristiriitaisiin is a Finnish verb form used to express hypothetical contradiction in the passive voice. It is derived from the noun ristiriita, meaning contradiction, and the Finnish mood and voice system that can combine passive forms with the conditional mood. In practice, ristiriitaisiin would be used in analytic or theoretical writing to indicate that something would be in conflict or would be contradicted under certain conditions.

Form and usage

The form features the passive stem combined with the conditional mood suffix, yielding a meaning akin to “would be in contradiction” or “would be contradicted,” depending on the semantics of the verb it accompanies. The subject of the clause is the entity that would be in contradiction, while the agent (if mentioned) is typically expressed separately. Because it expresses hypothetical or contingent situations, ristiriitaisiin is more common in academic or formally written Finnish than in everyday speech.

Example

Väitteet ristiriitaisiin, jos uudet todisteet vahvistuvat.

The claims would be contradictory if new evidence confirms them.

Relation to other forms

The corresponding active form would convey who or what would cause the contradiction (for example, “ristiriitaisivat” meaning “they would contradict”). The passive conditional form ristiriitaisiin is thus a tool for discussing potential inconsistencies without specifying an agent.

Overview

Ristiriitaisiin illustrates how Finnish can encode hypothetical mood and passive voice together to communicate a nuanced stance about possible contradictions. It is primarily encountered in linguistic descriptions, scholarly writing, and careful argumentation rather than in casual conversation. See also Finnish grammar, conditional mood, passive voice, ristiriita (contradiction).