Participles.
The participles may be called verbal adjectives, just as the infinitives are verbal substantives. But, as has already been observed, there is no clear distinction between adjectives and substantives in the Finnish language, and the participles are used substantively in many constructions, just as the third infinitive is used adjectively. They sometimes lose all temporal signification and become mere adjectives, as oppinut, learned; väsynyt, tired; mädännyt, rotten.
When used with a verbal meaning the present participles (part. I) indicate an action beginning or continuing, and the past participles (part. II) an action which is completed. The temporal signification is not very marked. It is noticeable that the passive participles have two distinct meanings, one impersonal like the rest of the so-called passive verb, the other distinctly passive.
All the participles can be used—
(1) As attributes or predicates.
(2) To form the compound tenses of verbs in conjunction with the verb olla, after the manner already explained.
Participle I—Active.
This participle denotes an action taking place or which is to take place in the future, just as the present indicative represents both a present and future tense. Lentävä lintu saa jotakin, istuva ei mitään, the bird who flies catches something: the bird who sits still nothing. Ei työtä tekevä nälkään kuole, the man who works does not die of hunger. Kysyvä ei tieltä eksy, he who asks does not lose his way. Hukkuva oljen korteenkin tarttuu, a drowning man catches at a straw (provs.).
In the combination with the verb olla it has a future signification (v. p. [176]).
The essive of this participle is used with the verb olla to signify something pretended by the subject. In this sense it is often in the plural, though the subject itself is singular. Hän on olevinansa (or olevanansa) oppinut, he pretends to be learned. Hän on paljonkin tietävinänsä, he thinks he knows a great deal. Hän oli lähtevänänsä eilen, mutta ei mennyt, he pretended he was starting yesterday, but did not go. So also it is used in speaking of dreams and hallucinations. Minä olin näkevinäni, I thought I saw. Gen. xxxvii. 7, Katso, me olimme sitovanamme jalallisia wainiolla (of a dream); cf. Gen. xli. 17, Unessani olin minä seisovana.
Words ending in ja as a rule correspond to English forms in er. E.g. rakentaja, a builder; that is to say they denote an action, like the present participle, but do not define the time in any way. Sometimes, however, they are used exactly like the present participle, e.g. Kal. xvi. 169, Se oli poukkujen pesiä Räpähien räimyttäjä, which means, not she was a washerwoman, but she was washing clothes. Similarly, Pappi oli ristijänä, the priest was christening a child. Cf. Kal. x. 111, Miesten syöjille sioille.
Participle II—Active.
The past active participle expresses an action, which has taken place at any past time. Ei ole vuoksen voittanutta, Yli käynyttä Imatran (Kal. iii. 182), there is no (waterfall) that has conquered the Vuoksa or surpassed Imatra. Äijä on tänne tullehia, Ei paljo palannehia (Kal. xvi. 270), there are many who have come down here, not many who have gone back. Alkää häiritkö nukkunutta, wake not the sleeper.
The translative singular of this participle is used in connection with the verb tulla to denote an incidental or chance action. Hän tuli sanoneeksi, kertoneeksi ..., he happened to say in the course of conversation ... Mennessään kaupunkiin tuli nähneeksi ..., as he went to the town he happened to see ... Puodissa käydessään tuli ostaneeksi uuden maton, in going round the shops he happened to buy a new carpet. Cf. Kal. ii. 149, Sai toki sanoneheksi, scarce had he said it. Olkoon menneeksi, it does not matter, or let that pass.
Participle I—Passive.
This participle has not a simple temporal signification, but has always an idea of desirability, or necessity. Kunnioitettava Herra, a man to be honoured. In combination with the verb olla it can be used either as a simple adjective, e.g. se on korjattava, that should be corrected, or as a part of the impersonal passive verb, sitä on korjattava. It is sometimes used with a genitive of the agent like the infinitive. Sentähden oli etsittävä kahdenkeskistä yksinäisyyttä, on this account it was necessary to seek for a tête-à-tête interview. Sanokaa, mitä tietä minun on mentävä, tell me what road I should take. Tämä asia on meidän mielessämme pidettävä, we must keep that in mind.
The translative singular of this participle is used exactly like the illative of the third infinitive, but with a passive signification. Setä toi kirjoja lasten luettavaksi, the uncle brought books for the children to read (for the reading of the children). Hän antoi veitsen hiottavaksi, he gave the knife to be sharpened.
Participle II—Passive.
This participle is really a substantive expressing the result of the verb’s action. From this it passes easily to an adjectival meaning. For instance, työ on tehty, the work is a thing done, is much the same as the work is done. In combination with olla it is used to form tenses of the passive impersonal verb, and as such, can take an object, otherwise it has the same signification as the past passive participle in other languages. Puhuttu puhe ammuttu nuoli, a word once spoken is an arrow shot forth. Unhotettu maksettu velka, a debt paid is forgotten (proverbs). Jos mun tuttuni tulisi, if one known by me were to come.
It is noticeable that when used in this sense the past passive participle does not as a rule take the pronominal suffix. Thus one says, ostettu kirja, the book that has been bought, but by preference, ostamani kirja, the book that has been bought by me.
Part. II passive is also used substantively in the partitive singular to express an action antecedent to the action of the principal verb. As the original meaning of the partitive is motion from, this is very analogous to the use of the elative of infinitive III. Like other expressions of the same nature (e.g. the inessive of infinitive II) this use is rendered in English by a temporal sentence. The subject of that sentence is represented in Finnish by a genitive, or by a pronominal suffix, if the subjects of the principal and temporal sentence are the same.
Jopa tuonne tultuansa, Matkan päähän päästyänsä (Kal. xlii. 25), after he had come thither and reached the end of his journey. Muutaman päivän kuluttua, after a few days. Luettuaan sanomalehtiä ja syötyään aamiaisen, after he had read his paper and eaten his breakfast. Kävelyltään palattuaan, after returning from his walk. Juotuaan kolme, neljä lasia teetä, after drinking three or four glasses of tea. Sotamiehen kotiin palattua, when the soldier had come home. Päivän laskettua, when the sun had set.
As however this participle denotes a completed rather than a past action, it is sometimes used in cases where we have to translate it by a present participle. Kal. xvii. 593, Hyvin laait tultuasi, thou hast done well in coming. xlvi. 284, Terve, terve tultuasi (terve tuloa is a common expression), hail to thee in thy coming. These two examples show clearly the substantival character of the participle.
Use of Participles in Oblique Oration.
The participles have another use in Finnish—viz. they correspond to the construction known in Latin grammar as the accusative and infinitive in subordinate sentences.
In other words, a subordinate sentence which in English begins with the word that (and some others), and which might in Finnish be represented by a similar sentence beginning with että, can be put in a shorter and more idiomatic form by: (1) omitting the word että; (2) replacing the finite verb by the genitive singular of the participle; (3) representing the subject by a genitive, partitive, or pronominal affix. Thus se luulee että hän tekee Jumalalle palveluksen, he thinketh that he doeth God service becomes se luulee tekevänsä Jumalalle palveluksen.
The participle present is used in this construction when the action of the subordinate sentence is coincident with that of the principal sentence or future to it, and the past participle when the action of the subordinate sentence is anterior. He thinks he will receive the book, luulee kirjan saavansa. He thinks he has received the book, luulee kirjan saaneensa. Notice that a past tense does not require necessarily the past participle. Hän luuli lintuja olevan metsässä, he thought there were birds in the wood. Here the present participle is used because the action of the two verbs is contemporaneous.
The noun or pronoun which is the subject in the expanded sentence is put in the genitive when total, in the partitive when partial, and represented by the pronominal suffix when the subjects of the two sentences are the same. The participle remains in the genitive sing. whatever be the case or number of the subject.
This use is more frequent in affirmative than in negative sentences, but there is no objection to such sentences as En luule voivani tulla, I do not think I can come, where the principal verb is negatived. It is however very rarely used when the verb of the subordinate sentence is negatived (vide p. [220] for some curious irregularities in this respect).
Examples:—Kuin hän siis kuuli hänen sairastavan, when he heard he was ill. Luuletteko olevan mitä vaaraa? do you think there is any danger? Minä päivänä toivotte saapuvanne perille? on what day do you expect to arrive? En usko häntä näkeväni, I don’t believe I shall see him. Minä luulen sotamiesten jo saapuneen leiriin, I think the soldiers have already gone to the camp. En usko palvelijan varastaneen rahoja, I do not believe that the servant has stolen the money. Tiedän vieraita tulevan, I know that some strangers have come. Näin vettä satavan, I see that it is raining. Kuulin laivoja tulleen, I heard that some ships had arrived. When the verb olla is used in this construction, its complement remains in the same case as it would be in an expanded sentence, if it is in any case but the nominative singular.
| Luulen että { | vesi on hyvää, |
| poika on terveenä, | |
| syytetyt ovat tuomitut kuolemaan. |
become
| Luulen { | veden olevan hyvää |
| pojan olevan terveenä | |
| syytettyjen olevan tuomitut kuolemaan. |
But if the complement is a nominative singular it appears as a genitive singular when the subject is put in that case.
Luulen että poika on ahkera becomes Luulen pojan olevan ahkeran.
It is possible to still more abridge the proposition by rejecting olevan and putting the complement in the translative. Luulen pojan ahkeraksi. Tiesi hetkensä tulleeksi, he knew that his hour had come. Huomasin hänen menneeksi, I noticed he was gone. Kertoi veneen kaatuneeksi, he related that the boat had been upset (v. page [158]).
If the predicate of the subordinate sentence in the expanded form is a passive verb, the passive participle can be used in the genitive singular. The subject of such a proposition is always in the partitive. As a rule only part. I passive is used in the genitive, part. II being generally in the translative according to the construction mentioned above.
Tiedän häntä odotettavan, I know they are waiting for him. Näin karhua ammuttavan, I see the bear is being shot at; but Epäilen karhua tappetuksi, I doubt if the bear has been killed. Uskon metsää hakattavan, I think the forest is being cut down; but Uskon metsän hakatuksi, I think the forest has been cut down.
These participal constructions are also employed when the verb introducing the subordinate sentence is in the passive form. Under such circumstances the subject of the subordinate sentence may either remain in the nominative or pass into the genitive.
Siinä makasiinissa kuulutaan saatavan oikeata kiinalaista teetä, this shop is said to receive real Chinese tea. Sanotaan varustettavan sotaretkeä, it is said that an expedition is being armed. Luultiin ihmisiä kuolleen, it was thought the men were dead.
The intransitive verbs näkyä, to be seen; näyttää, to appear; tuntua, to feel; kuulua, to be heard, also take the genitive of the participle.
Hän kuuluu eronneen miehestään ja lähteneen Pietariin, she is said to be divorced from her husband and to have left for St. Petersburg. Et näy tuntevan vanhaa ystävääsi, you don’t seem to know your old friend. Ei kuulu saadun kaloja, it is said no fish have been caught[16].