-tava

See also: -tävä

Finnish

Alternative forms

• -ttava (with some verbs)

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *-taba (-tava) and *-ttapa (-ttava), probably from *-ta-, *-tta- (passive infix) + *-pa (active participle).

Suffix

-tava

1. Forms the present passive participle.

   Luettavan teoksen nimi on...

   The name of the work that is to be read is...

Usage notes

• Formed by using the past passive stem and appending -ava, appearing either as -tava or -ttava depending on the verb.
• Some inflected forms have specific uses:
  • genitive singular: used with verbs of reporting or observing to refer to the action being done by someone (passively) according to that report or observation.

    Teosta sanotaan luettavan kurssilla.

    It is said that the work is being read on the course.

  • inessive plural: used to express possibility or plausibility of an action.

    Se on tehtävissä.

    It's doable.

    (Note that the above sentence could also mean "it's in the tasks/exercises"; see tehtävä)

Anagrams

• vata