THE VERB.
The moods and tenses of the Finite verb in Finnish are very simple.
The present and imperfect with the compound tenses called perfect and pluperfect form the entire indicative mood.
I. The present indicates—
(1) An habitual action, or an action which is going on at the present time. Joka päivä hän lukee sanomalehden alusta loppuun saakka, every day he reads the newspaper through from one end to the other. Mihin menette? Menemme metsään, where are you going? we are going to the wood. When it is desired to emphasise the fact that some one is engaged in an action at the present time, such phrases as he ovat kalastamassa, they are fishing, may be used (v. p. [191]).
(2) A future action, as we say ‘he comes to-morrow.’ Some distinction is made between these two uses by the fact that while a verb representing an action as going on always takes an object in the partitive, a verb which represents an action as to be completed in the future takes an object in the genitive. Kirjoitan kirjettä, I am writing a letter; huomenna kirjoitan kirjeen, I shall write a letter to-morrow. Kun saan tietää missä asuu, niin menen hänen luo, when I know where he lives I shall go and see him.
(3) In a few expressions the present indicative is used in a concessive sense. Maksaa mitä maksaa, cost what it may. Sano mitä sanot, say what you will.
II. The imperfect is used in two senses:—
(1) It denotes an action in past time, either habitual or isolated, either continuous or momentary; it thus corresponds to several past tenses in other languages. Seuraavana päivänä tuli nuori rouva aamiais-pöytään, kun muut olivat lopettaneet, next day the young lady came down to breakfast when the rest had finished. Tapasitko sisartani? did you meet my sister? En tavannut, I did not meet her. Joka päivä lähti hän kävelemään pääkadulle, every day he took a walk in the principal street. Lohi loimahti merehen, the salmon jumped into the sea. Itki yötä kaksi kolme, he wept two or three nights.
(2) It is also used like the present in a concessive sense, but much more frequently than that tense. Kävi miten kävi, asiaan on ryhtyttävä, come what may, the business must be begun. Oli kumpi hyvänsä, whichever of the two it is. Cf. such expressions as kuka niitä kaikkia muisti? Lempo niitä ymmärsi.
It is noticeable that in the narrative portions of the Kalevala and other poems the present and imperfect are used almost indifferently (v. extracts at end of book). Perhaps the sound of the terminations pi and vi, which, like the imperfect, end in i, made the confusion easier.
III. The perfect corresponds pretty nearly to the tense formed with the auxiliary have in English. Olemme maanneet vähän aikaa niin lähdemme järvelle koko yöksi, we have slept a little and are going out on the lake for the whole night. Oletteko ennen kuulleet sitä laulua? have you heard that song before? En ole nähnyt häntä moneen aikaan, I have not seen him for a long time.
IV. The pluperfect expresses an action finished in past time, and may be rendered by had in English. Kun hän sen sanonut oli, meni hän taas ulos, when he had said this he went out again. Oliko hän ehkä saanut tiedon asiasta? had he by any chance heard of the matter?
It will be observed that there is no real future tense in Finnish. Its want is supplied in several ways.
A. By the present tense as described above.
B. By a periphrastic conjugation consisting of the present participle and the present or imperfect of olla. This corresponds to the Russian future with буду, and denotes a future action the time of which is not specified. Ennenkuin päivät tulevat koskas olet sanova...., before the days come in which thou shalt say.... (Eccl. xii. 1). Hän on vapahtava kansansa heidän synneistänsä, He shall save His people from their sins.
C. By the concessive. This tense is frequently used to imply something probable or doubtful in the future. Ostanevat kaupungista kirjat ja tuonevat ne jo huomenna kotia, they will probably buy new books and bring them home to-morrow. Tappaneeko hän itsensä? (S. John viii. 22) will he kill himself?
D. By the conditional, especially in conditional sentences. Tulisin huomenna, jos ehtisin, I shall come to-morrow, if I have time. Isäntä ei palkitsisi sinua ennenkuin olisit työsi lopettanut, your master will not pay you before you finish your work.
E. Various periphrases are used, particularly when there is any idea of necessity or obligation in the future. The following examples taken from the translation of the Bible will show this. Minä saan nähdä hänen, mutta en nyt, I shall see him, but not now (Num. xxiv. 17, but the passage continues minä katselen häntä waan en lästä). Teidän pitää minua etsimän, ye shall seek me (S. John vii. 34). Sillä ei sitä pidä unhotettaman heidän siemenensä suussa, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed (Deut. xxxi. 21). Autuaat ovat siviät sillä he saavat maan periä, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth (S. Matt. v. 5).
The Concessive.
This mood represents an action as possible, and is particularly used in questions, or in sentences introduced by such particles as ehkä, which imply a doubt or question.
It has two tenses.
I. The present, implying a potential action in the present or future. Lieneekö totta mitä sanotaan? is it likely that what people say is true? Hän sen parhaiten tietänee, he probably knows best. Jos et tuostana totelle, if thou willst not obey that. Osannet palkan ottaa, osaa työkin tehdä, wouldst thou know how to receive the reward, learn how to do the work. Sureneeko Jumala härkiä? doth God care for oxen? Ei suattane sinua Saaren suurehen sukuhun, they are not likely to tolerate your alliance with the great family of the island (Kal. xi. 71).
II. The past, implying a potential action in past time. Hän lienee luullut minua toiseksi, he probably thought I was some one else. Ei liene sinua luotu Ison tammen taittajaksi (Kal. ii. 145), thou art probably not created to break the mighty oak. Lieneekö hän arvanuut ketä puhutteli? did he know with whom he spoke?
The Conditional.
The conditional mood has two tenses, the present and past, which denote an action dependent on certain conditions in present or past time.
It is used:—
(1) In conditional, comparative, and concessive sentences, both in the protasis and apodosis. When used in the sentence introduced by jos, or some similar particle, the present implies that the condition is not yet realised, and the past that it has not been. But this distinction is not always observed, the present being used of a condition not realized in the past. Jos menisitte tässä myrskyssä järvelle niin hukkuisitte, if you were to go on the lake in this storm you would be drowned. Parempi olisi ollut Ilman impenä eleä, it would have been better to live as the virgin of the air (Kal. i. 161). Jos varani myöntäisivät niin matkustaisin ulkomaille, if my means allowed me I should go abroad. Kukapa ... käkiä kukutteleisi, Lintusia laulattaisi, Jos minä menisin muunne, Saisin marja muille maille. Jos tämä kana katoisi, Tämä hanhi hairahtaisi, etc. (Kal. x. 441 ff.).
The word jos is sometimes omitted and replaced by the interrogative suffix -ko after the verb. Kal. xi. 95:—Nauraisitko Saaren naiset, Pitäisit pyhäiset piiat, Niin siitä tora tulisi, Sota suuri lankeaisi, were you to seduce the maidens of the island a quarrel would come of it and a great war fall on us.
(2) In final sentences to express the object of an action. Ilmoittakaat minulle että minäkin tulisin ja kummartaisin häntä (S. Matt. ii. 8), bring me word that I may come and worship him also. Kirjoitan hänelle että hän toimittaisi sen asian, I am writing to him that he may undertake the affair. Olkaa hiljaa, lapset, että saisin rauhassa työskennellä, be quiet, children, that I may work in peace. Ava suusi suuremmaksi ... pääsisin mahasta maalle (Kal. xvii. 583), open thy mouth ... that I may come forth from thy stomach.
(3) In temporal and relative sentences when the temporal particle or relative involves some idea of purpose, capacity, etc. En tahtonut ruveta kirjoittamaan ennenkuin saisin varman tiedon asiasta, I did not wish to write before I received certain news of the affair. Päätin lakkauttaa kauppaliikkeeni kunnes ajat paranisivat, I determined to close my business till the times should be better. Sen mä mieheksi sanoisin, Urohoksi arveleisin, Joka jouseni vetäisi, Kiveräni kiinnittäisi. (Kal. xxvi. 357). N.B. The conditional is used only if the principal verb is in a past tense or conditional.
(4) In Oratio Obliqua.
a. After verbs of wishing, asking, commanding, etc. Käske että palvelija valjastaisi hevosen, tell the servant to get the horse harnessed. Tahdotko että se heti tehtäisiin? do you wish it to be done at once?
b. To represent the imperative in the Oratio recta. Isäntä sanoi että rengit menisivät pellolle, the master told the servants to go to the fields. Hän viitasi että he vaikenisivat, he motioned to them to be silent.
(5) As a polite form of statement, request, or question, from which, as mentioned above, it often comes to be used as a future. Minä luulisin että hän ostaisi talonne, I should think he would buy your house. Voisitteko kertoa minulle? can you tell me? Tahtoisin puhua kanssanne, I should like to talk to you. Näyttäisitte minulle, please show me. Enkö saisi ...? can I have ...? Menisitte noutamaan yhdet hyyryvaunut, please go and call a cab.
(6) To express a wish with such particles as jos, jospa, kunhan, etc. Jospa hän tulisi! if he would only come! Jospa olisin tietänyt! had I only known! Kunhan tuttuni tulisi! if my friend would but come!
Imperative and Optative.
Though these moods are given as two in the Accidence on account of the slight difference in their form, they may be treated as one syntactically, as they supply one another’s deficiencies, the imperative being only used in the 2nd sing. and 1st and 2nd persons plur., and the optative only in the 2nd sing. and the 3rd person singular and plural. In poetry a 2nd pers. plur. optative ending in otte is occasionally found. There is no difference between the meaning of the two in 2nd person singular.
The imperative expresses:—
I. A command or request. Lähe nyt kanssa laulamahan, come to sing with me (Kal. i. 14). Toki tullos toinen kerta, come again (Kal. v. 137). Käy pian välehen jou’u, go quickly and finish the business (Kal. l. 211). Ellös menkö poikaseni Parempikin itseäsi, aspire not, my son, to those that are better than thyself (Kal. xi. 69).
II. A condition. Sano mitä sanot, en siitä kuitenkaan välitä, you may say what you like, but I don’t care. Teen minä sen vaikka hän kieltäköönkin, I shall do it, even though he forbid it.
The Passive.
The passive, as has already been mentioned in the Accidence, is impersonal. Käytetään means there is a using, or one uses, people use. The clearest proof of the real character of the form is to be found in the fact that the verb substantive olla, to be, has a so-called passive.
Examples:—Niin kohta kun ollaan tultu, as soon as people come. Ennen oltiin terveempiä, people were healthier formerly. Siihen oltaneen tyytyväisiä, this will probably prove satisfactory (people will be satisfied with this). Järvellä oltaessa tuuli kovasti, while they were on the lake, the wind blew violently.
(1) The passive of ordinary verbs is used absolutely; that is to say, no noun is connected with it as subject or object. Koulussa kirjoitetaan ja luetaan, they read and write in the school. Helsingissä huvitellaan paljo talven aikoina, there is much amusement in Helsingfors in winter time. Suomen järvissä ja joissa kalastetaan, people fish (or there is fishing) in the lakes and rivers of Finland.
(2) As the above examples show, the passive represents the action of a verb without designating the agent. It is not unnatural that such forms should be used in an imperative or optative sense, for the second singular of the imperative is simply the root of the verb. It is true that the imperative is the closed root, due to the loss of k, but like the passive it has no sign of person.
This use of the passive for the imperative is particularly common in dialects, though it is also found in the literary language. Its usual meaning is ‘Let us.’ Mennään sisään, let us go in. Luetaan, let us read, or it’s time to read. Lähdetään kotia, we ought to go home. Mennäänkö jalan vain ajetaanko hevosella? Shall we go on foot, or take a carriage?
(3) This use of the passive for the imperative is important as explaining the common use of the form with a nominative case. Such a phrase as mies tunnetaan can be correctly translated as the man is known; but there is no doubt that the nominative is really the object of an impersonal verb, which naturally remains invariable, whatever the noun is. Now the object of the imperative is also put in the nominative and not in the accusative, though both in the case of the imperative and the passive it may be put in the partitive, if partial. It would seem that in these forms of the verbs, where the agent is not denoted by any suffix, it was felt that the sense was sufficiently clear without adding any termination to the noun to mark its exact relation to the verb.
The object of the passive, as above stated, can be either in the nominative, if total, or in the partitive, if partial.
a. Nominative. Koira ajetaan huoneesta ulos, the dog is sent out of the room. Palvelija lähetetään viemään kirjettä postiin, the servant is sent to take a letter to the post. Hevoset valjastetaan, the horses are being harnessed. Ruis kylvetään syksyllä, rye is sown in the autumn. Keskellä yötä sammutetaan tulet, the lights are put out at midnight. Tässä sodassa tapettiin viisikymmentä tuhatta miestä, fifty thousand men were killed in this war.
b. Partitive. Miksi sanotaan sitä Englannin kielellä? What is that called in English? Jos ei aleta varhain, niin ei työtä saada aikanansa valmiiksi, the work won’t be ready in time if not begun early. Poikaa ei vielä pantu kouluun, the boy was no longer sent to school. Ei vielä ollut uutta kirkkoa rakennettu, the new church had not yet been built. Ei kynttilätä sytytetä ja panna wakan ala, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, S. Matt. v. 15.
When the personal pronouns are used with the verb, it is commoner, particularly in speaking, to put them in the accusative ending in t, e.g. minut, sinut, hänet nähdään, is more usual than minä, sinä, hän nähdään. But the form with the nominative is not only grammatically correct, but found in writing, especially in the Bible, e.g. Rom. viii. 36, Sinun tähtes me kuoletetaan yli päivää: me pidetään niinkuin teurastettavat lampaat, for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Similarly 2 Cor. xi. 36, Kuka pahoitetaan ja en minä pala? Who is offended and I burn not. Sillä he ravitaan, for they shall be filled, S. Matt. v. 6. Että te heiltä nähtäisiin, that ye may be seen of them, S. Matt. vi. 1[15].
The conjugation of a passive form contains not only the strictly impersonal forms, like luetaan, people read, luettiin, people did read, but also compound tenses formed with the past passive participle which stand grammatically upon a different footing. For the participle in question is a simple adjective (or substantive), and such phrases as kirja on luettu, kirjat ovat luetut are exactly analogous to kirja on hyvä and kirjat ovat hyvät. In some cases, however, double constructions are possible: one can say either kirjat eivät ole löydetyt, the books have not been found, which is a simple adjectival construction; or kirjoja ei ole löydetty, in which the construction with the participle is assimilated to that with the other forms of the verb. If a participle of olla is employed in a compound tense in this construction it must be the passive participle. Kirjaa ei oltu löydetty, the book was not found.