tunnustetaan

Tunnustetaan is the present passive form of the Finnish verb tunnustaa, which means to acknowledge, admit, or confess. In Finnish, the passive voice is used when the actor performing the action is not specified or when a statement refers to a general or reported fact. Therefore, tunnustetaan translates roughly as “is acknowledged” or “is admitted,” and it is common in formal or impersonal contexts such as official statements or news reporting.

Grammatical notes: Tunnustaa belongs to the class of Finnish verbs with a consonant stem, and the present passive is formed with the ending -taan/-tään, resulting in tunnustetaan. The passive form does not express a specific agent; the subject of the clause is the thing being acknowledged, while the agent remains unexpressed or unknown.

Usage and nuance: Tunnustetaan is used when something is publicly or officially acknowledged, admitted, or recognized. It often appears in institutional or media texts to convey that an assertion or fact has been admitted by relevant parties, without naming who made the admission. It can pair with a range of complements, including facts, errors, or explanations.

Related forms: The noun form of the verb is tunnustus (confession, acknowledgment, recognition). Other related verbs include tunnustaa (to acknowledge, admit, confess) in active voice, and variants such as tunnustuksellinen (confessional) or tunnustuksellisesti (confessionally), depending on the context.

Examples:

- Virheitä tunnustetaan. (Mistakes are acknowledged.)

- Lapsen vanhemmat tunnustavat virheen ja pyrkivät korjaamaan sen.