Potential mood

The form of the potential

The potential mood suffix is ne. The personal suffixes are the same as in the indicative present tense, except that the 4th person form has an integrated suffix (containing both the mood suffix and the personal suffix) ttAneen or tAneen. The latter is used for words with a consonant stem, e.g. tul|la : tul|taneen. It is rather common, but substandard, to omit the final n in 4th person forms, e.g. tultanee.

For verbs with a consonant stem, a final l, r, or s in such a stem assimilates the n of the potential suffix, e.g. kävel|lä : kävel|lee, pur|ra : pur|ree, syös|tä : syös|see. This makes such forms difficult to recognize even to native speakers, since they are very similar to indicative forms (kävelee, puree, syöksee). Therefore, such forms are used even less than the potential in general.

A different assimilation occurs if the consonant stem ends with t: it is assimilated to n, e.g. havait|a : havain|nee. Such forms differ considerably from indicative forms (e.g. havaitsee).

The verb olla (to be) has an irregular potential in the sense that the stem there is liene-: lienen, lienet, lienee, lienemme, lienette, lienevät, except for the 4th person form, which is regular: oltaneen. Sometimes regularly constructed forms ollen, ollet, ollee etc. are incorrectly used instead. The 3rd person singular form lienee or its contracted form lie is widely used as if it were an adverb (e.g., lie on, “probably is”) in informal writing, but such usage is substandard. Otherwise you’ll seldom encounter any potential forms in normal speech or in informal texts.

The potential has no simple past tense form. Instead, a composite form is used, formed using the verb olla in the potential (i.e. lienen etc.) and the past participle of the main verb, e.g. Se lienee tapahtunut eilen (It probably occurred yesterday). In the 4th person, the passive participle is used, e.g. Täällä lienee juhlittu (There has probably been a party here).

Rarity of the potential

The potential mood is mainly a literary form. It is rare and often used incorrectly, since it is normally not used in speech. Although it is generally described as expressing that something is probable, it has several other uses as well. Moreover, for expressing probability, it is normal to use the normal indicative mood together with a suitable adverb like kai, luultavasti, or todennäköisesti (probably).

Literary use

The potential has some use in literary style, however. It may help to express uncertainty without giving it too much emphasis. In headings, it helps to keep the text shorter, especially since in literary style, the suitable alternative is to use a long adverb. Compare Presidentti matkustanee Venäjälle with Presidentti matkustaa todennäköisesti Venäjälle (The president will probably travel to Russia).

Imperative use

The potential is also used to express an instruction or even a command, though this cannot be regarded as good style. For example, Maksanette laskun ensi tilassa does not express an estimate about probability (You will probably pay the bill as soon as possible), but rather a request (Please pay the bill as soon as possible).

Use in proposals

There is very special use for the potential in jurisprudence, where the potential may express a formal opinion on what should be done, e.g. oikeus päättänee, which does not mean “the court will probably decide” but a judge’s opinion on what the court should decide. There is similar use in making proposals especially in meetings. E.g., päätettäneen or kokous päättänee means that someone or some body proposes that a particular decision be made.

Use in doubtful questions in old popular language

In old popular speech, and still in some forms of spoken language, the potential might appear in doubtful questions, like osanneeko hän…, which does not mean “does he probably know how to…” but rather “I wonder if he actually knows how to…”. This is the original use. The literary use, though part of standard language, is largely based on the imitation of certain expressions in Swedish.

Expressions for uncertainty

To express uncertainty, there are several idiomatic expressions in addition to the potential. The following lists some ways of saying “He is probably rich”, with variation in tone and style:

Hän lienee rikas.

Hän on kai rikas.

Hän taitaa olla rikas.

Hän mahtaa olla rikas.

Combined potential and conditional

In standard language, a verb form cannot have two mood suffixes. In practice, a combination of the potential and the conditional, especially the verb form lienisi (would probably be), or less often lieneisi, is used to some extent.