Language Trip

Conjugation › Finnish › Olla

Finnish · Verb Tables · Advanced

Olla Conjugation

olla means "to be" in Finnish. Present: minä olen, sinä olet, hän on, me olemme, te olette, he ovat. Below: all 46 tenses we teach, with examples.

Present Preesens

Weak-grade stem + personal endings (-n, -t, vowel lengthening, -mme, -tte, -vat/-vät). It also covers the future, because Finnish has no separate future tense; context and time words (huomenna, ensi viikolla) show it.

Imperfect (Simple Past) Imperfekti

Past stem in -i- + endings. It is the normal narrative past and also answers 'did you ...?'. Gradation often returns the strong grade in the 3rd person (luin but luki).

Perfect Perfekti

Present of olla + past active participle (-nut/-nyt; plural -neet). Used for results and experience up to now, as in English, often with jo (already) or koskaan (ever).

Pluperfect Pluskvamperfekti

Imperfect of olla + past active participle. Used for something finished before another past moment.

Present (Negative) Preesens, kielteinen

The negative verb (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät) + the bare present stem (connegative, weak grade, no personal ending). The negative verb carries person; the main verb never changes.

Imperfect (Negative) Imperfekti, kielteinen

Negative verb + past active participle (singular -nut, plural -neet). The participle agrees in number with the subject, not the person.

Perfect (Negative) Perfekti, kielteinen

Negative verb + ole + past active participle.

Pluperfect (Negative) Pluskvamperfekti, kielteinen

Negative verb + ollut/olleet + past active participle.

Present Passiivin preesens

Stem + -taan/-tään (with strong grade after the stem vowel change). Finnish passive has no agent and no person: it means 'one / people do', and in everyday speech it replaces the 'we' form (me puhutaan).

Imperfect (Simple Past) Passiivin imperfekti

Passive stem + -ttiin/-tiin (-ttiin after strong stems).

Perfect Passiivin perfekti

on + past passive participle (-ttu/-tu).

Pluperfect Passiivin pluskvamperfekti

oli + past passive participle.

Present (Negative) Passiivin preesens, kielteinen

ei + passive stem without -an (no ending). Perfect negative: ei ole + participle; pluperfect negative: ei ollut + participle.

Imperfect (Negative) Passiivin imperfekti, kielteinen

ei + past passive participle.

Present Conditional Konditionaalin preesens

Stem + -isi- + personal endings. It is used for polite requests, wishes and hypotheticals ('would'), in both the main and the jos-clause.

Perfect Conditional Konditionaalin perfekti

olisi- forms + past active participle: 'would have'. Used for unreal past situations and regrets.

Present Conditional (Negative) Konditionaalin preesens, kielteinen

Negative verb + conditional 3rd-person form (it never changes for person).

Perfect Conditional (Negative) Konditionaalin perfekti, kielteinen

Negative verb + olisi + past active participle.

Passive Present Conditional Passiivin konditionaali

Passive stem + -ttaisiin/-taisiin. Impersonal 'would'.

Passive Perfect Conditional Passiivin konditionaalin perfekti

olisi + past passive participle. Negative: ei olisi + participle; present negative: ei + conditional without -n (ei puhuttaisi).

Present Potential Potentiaalin preesens

Stem + -ne- + personal endings. Literary and formal; expresses probability ('probably, presumably'). Rare in speech; the commonest forms are lienee, tullee and tietänee.

Perfect Potential Potentiaalin perfekti

lie- forms + past active participle: 'has probably ...'. Newspaper and legal style.

Present Potential (Negative) Potentiaalin preesens, kielteinen

Negative verb + potential stem without personal ending (connegative -ne).

Perfect Potential (Negative) Potentiaalin perfekti, kielteinen

Negative verb + liene + past active participle.

Passive Present Potential Passiivin potentiaali

Passive stem + -ttaneen. Very rare, bureaucratic. Negative: ei puhuttane.

Imperative (Affirmative) Imperatiivi, myönteinen

2nd singular is the bare stem. The 1st plural (let us), 2nd plural and the 3rd persons (let him / her / them) use the strong-grade stem + -kAAmme / -kAA / -kOOn / -kOOt. The polite request is usually the conditional rather than the imperative.

Imperative (Negative) Imperatiivi, kielteinen

Special negative verb: älä (you), älkäämme, älkää, älköön, älkööt + the verb in -ko/-kö. Singular: älä + bare stem.

Imperative Perfect Imperatiivin perfekti

olkoon / olkoot + past active participle. Rare, formal (contracts, mathematics, ceremonial language); only 3rd person is normal. Negative: älköön olko + participle.

Passive Imperative Passiivin imperatiivi

Passive stem + -kOOn: 'let it be done'. Negative: älköön + stem + -kO.

First Infinitive I infinitiivi

The dictionary form (-a/-ä, -da/-dä, -la/-na/-ra/-sta, -ta/-tä). It follows verbs such as haluta, voida, osata, aikoa and täytyy.

First Infinitive, Long Form I infinitiivin pitkä muoto

Infinitive + -kse- + possessive suffix (-ni, -si, -nsA / -An, -mme, -nne). Means 'in order to'; formal and written.

Second Infinitive, Inessive II infinitiivin inessiivi

Stem + -essa/-essä (+ possessive suffix if the subject differs from a noun). Means 'when / while doing'. The subject, if any, is in the genitive.

Second Infinitive, Instructive II infinitiivin instruktiivi

Stem + -en: manner ('by ...ing, while ...ing'), mostly in fixed phrases and written style.

Third Infinitive, Inessive III infinitiivin inessiivi

-ma/-mä stem + -ssa/-ssä: 'in the middle of doing'. The commonest of the III forms in everyday speech.

Third Infinitive, Elative III infinitiivin elatiivi

-ma stem + -sta/-stä: 'from / after doing' (also 'stop doing').

Third Infinitive, Illative III infinitiivin illatiivi

-ma stem + -an/-än: direction towards an action ('to do'). Used with mennä, tulla, ruveta, alkaa, auttaa, oppia.

Third Infinitive, Adessive III infinitiivin adessiivi

-ma stem + -lla/-llä: 'by doing'.

Third Infinitive, Abessive III infinitiivin abessiivi

-ma stem + -tta/-ttä: 'without doing'.

Fourth Infinitive IV infinitiivi

-minen: the verbal noun ('the act of ...ing'); it declines like a noun and works as 'to X' as a subject.

Fifth Infinitive V infinitiivi

-maisillaan + possessive suffix: 'on the point of doing'. Rare, literary.

Present Active Participle Aktiivin preesensin partisiippi

-va/-vä (from the 3rd plural). Used like an adjective or as a relative clause ('who/which does').

Past Active Participle Aktiivin perfektin partisiippi

-nut/-nyt (plural -neet). Forms the perfect and pluperfect; also an adjective ('who has done').

Present Passive Participle Passiivin preesensin partisiippi

-ttava/-ttävä: 'that can/must be done'. Expresses necessity or possibility.

Past Passive Participle Passiivin perfektin partisiippi

-ttu/-tty: 'was done'. Forms the passive perfect; also an adjective.

Agent Participle Agenttipartisiippi

-ma/-mä: 'done by (someone)'. The agent is in the genitive and precedes the participle; formal written style.

Negation Participle Kieltopartisiippi

-maton/-mätön: 'un-, not having ...ed, -less'.

Examples

Learn Finnish Free

Practice Olla and every other verb with flashcards and verb drills in the Language Trip app and website. Free, no account needed, no ads.

All Finnish verb tables · Basic Finnish phrases