B2 · Upper Intermediate Chapter 48

Referative Construction

1 Total Rules
1 min
Rules in This Chapter Quick Practice

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of reporting speech and thoughts elegantly without using 'että' clauses.

  • Identify the participial form used in indirect reporting.
  • Construct sentences using the 'sanoi tehneensä' structure.
  • Transform direct speech into concise referative statements.
Report with precision, elegance, and zero 'että'.

What You'll Learn

Reporting what someone said or thought without 'että'. The 'sanoi tehneensä' structure.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: report what others have said or done using the past participial construction.

Tips & Tricks (1)

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Vowel Harmony

Always check the last vowel of the stem.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Key Vocabulary (5)

väittää to claim tunnustaa to confess muistaa to remember kuulla to hear epäillä to suspect

Real-World Preview

users

The Office Gossip

Review Summary

  • Verb (say/think) + [Subject in Genitive/Possessive] + [Past Participle + n + possessive suffix] + [case]

Common Mistakes

While the first sentence is grammatically 'okay', the second is the preferred B2+ way to report. You must remove 'että' to use this structure.

Wrong: Hän sanoi, että hän on tehnyt sen.
Correct: Hän sanoi tehneensä sen.

You must include the possessive suffix (-nsa) after the participial form.

Wrong: Hän sanoi tehnyt sen.
Correct: Hän sanoi tehneensä sen.

The verb must be in the participial form, not the past tense indicative.

Wrong: Hän sanoi minun menin kotiin.
Correct: Hän sanoi minun menneen kotiin.

Next Steps

You are doing an incredible job mastering these advanced structures. Keep practicing, and you'll sound like a native in no time!

Write a short paragraph reporting the news you heard today.

Continue to: Temporal Construction

Quick Practice (5)

Choose the correct form.

Näen ___ (juosta) koiran.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: juoksevan
Accusative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Fill in the correct participle.

Tämä on ___ (laulaa) lintu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: laulava
Nominative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Fill in the negative participle.

Tämä on ___ (kirjoittaa) kirja.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: kirjoittamaton
Negative form.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Choose the correct case.

Puhun ___ (nukkua) lapsesta.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nukkuvasta
Elative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Correct the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

Tämä on nukkuva lapsen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nukkuva lapsi
Nominative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Participial Construction (Referative)

Score: /5

Common Questions (2)

It's a way to turn verbs into adjectives/nouns.
Add -va/-vä to the stem.
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The Potential Mood
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Temporal Construction
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