(1) As the subject of impersonal verbs like =täytyy=, =tulee=, =kelpaa=.
=Paha koira tarvitsee tappaa=, _one ought to kill a bad dog_. =Täytyy
köyhän kärsiä, pitää kiittää päälliseksi=, _the poor must endure and give
thanks into the bargain_ (proverbs). =Sinun tulee puhua totta=, _you must
speak the truth_.
In this use two constructions are possible. One can say either =talossa
pitää olla isäntä=, _the master must be in the house_, or =Isännän pitää
olla talossa=. In this latter case the fact of the obligation affecting
the person is emphasized, while the sentence with the nominative means
rather, _the master’s being in the house is necessary_.
(2) As the complement of the verb =olla= combined with an adjective or
substantive. =Se kirja on hyödyllinen pojan lukea=, _this book is useful
for the boy to read_. =Ei ole aikaa lähteä=, _it is not time to go_.
=Pyyntösi on mahdoton kenenkään täyttää=, _your prayer is impossible for
anyone to fulfil_. =Tämä kuorma on raskas sinun kantaa=, _this burden is
hard for you to bear_. =On vaikea sanoa=, _it is hard to say_.
(3) It is used to define the meaning of verbs. =Talon mies ei osaa
lukea=, _the farm servant does not know how to write_. =Alkaa sataa=, _it
begins to rain_. =Laiska lapsi ei tahdo oppia=, _a lazy child does not
want to learn_. =Hän ei ymmärrä puhua=, _he does not know how to speak_.
=En voi tulla=, _I cannot come_. =Hän saa odottaa=, _he can wait_.
=Aiotko viipyä täällä=, _do you mean to stay here_. =Sallitteko minun
mennä?= _do you allow me to go?_ =Klaus lähteä lupasi=, _Klaus promised
to go_ (Kanteletar).
(4) It is used much like the longer form to express the object of an
action. =Tuo kala muidenkin katsella=, _bring the fish for others to
see_. =Panen maata=, _I am going to bed_. =Onko teillä hevosta myödä?=
_have you a horse to sell?_ =Arvelevi miten olla kuin eleä=, _he
considered what he should do, how he should live_.
There is another use of this infinitive, when it is employed with a verb
of kindred meaning in an adverbial sense. This use is very frequent in
the Kalevala and poetry and occasionally found in prose. It is to be
noted, however, that the infinitive generally represents what would be
the principal verb in ordinary language, while the verb in the indicative
indicates the manner in which the action is performed. Thus such a phrase
as =astua taputtelevi=, means _walking he stamped_ or _he stamped as he
walked_. =Härkä käyä källeröitti= (Kal. xx. 43), equivalent to =astui
keveästi=; cf. =Astua lykyttelevi, Käyä kulleroittelevi= (Kal. ii. 165).
=Waka vanha Wäinämöinen Ajoa karittelevi= (Kal. viii. 18). =Soutoa
melastelevi= (Kal. v. 41). =Astua ajattelevi, Käyä kääpäröittelevi.
Polttaa tuprutteli havannaansa.=
The first infinitive is hardly ever used in the passive form, but the
active form may be used with a passive verb or in sentences where our
idiom would use the passive infinitive. =Rautatie aiotaan rakentaa=, _the
railway is meant to be built_ or _there is an intention to build the
railway_. =Linnoitus voidaan ottaa=, _the fortress can be taken_.
The infinitive cannot be used with a negative on account of the peculiar
character of the Finnish negative verb. For the various devices used to
overcome this difficulty _vide_ pages 193 and 219.
_Infinitive II._
This infinitive is only employed in two cases, the inessive and the
instructive.
(1) The inessive expresses an action coincident in time with the action
of the principal verb, and must be rendered in English by a temporal
sentence, the subject of which appears in Finnish as a genitive, but
where the subject of the principal and subordinate sentences are the
same in English, the infinitive takes a pronominal suffix. =Palvelijan
tullessa kotiin, isäntä läksi metsään=, _when the servant came home, the
master went into the wood_, or literally ‘_on the coming home of the
servant_.’ =Abraham teidän isänne iloitsi nähdessänsä minun päivääni= (S.
John viii. 56), _your father Abraham rejoiced to see (when he saw) my
day_. =Ollessani teidän kanssanne=, _when I was with you_. =Astuessansa
ahoa, Saloviertä vierressänsä kuuli= (Kal. xliv. 77), _as he went through
the desert place, as he walked near the wood he heard_.
This infinitive is frequently used in the passive. =Kaskea poltettaessa=,
_while the forest was burning_. =Kotiin tultaessa ei ollut ketäkään=, _on
coming home, there was no one_. Kal. iii. 245, =Eikä lie sinua nähty ...
Tätä maata saataessa, Ilmoa suettaessa=, etc.
The active infinitive is also used impersonally. =Aika menee arvellessa,
päivä päätä käännellessä=, _time passes while one thinks, and the day
while one turns one’s head_ (proverb).
As the Finnish negative, owing to its peculiar character, cannot be used
with the infinitive, a negative temporal proposition is rendered by the
abessive or infinitive III, and the inessive of infinitive II. =Lukematta
istuessani=, _when I was not reading_; literally, _in my sitting without
reading_.
(2) The instructive of infinitive II is used to express the manner in
which an action is performed, and is generally rendered by a participle
in English. If the subject of the infinitive is expressed (in which case
it must be rendered otherwise than by a participle) it is put in the
genitive. This form is not used in the passive.
=Astui huollen huokaellen=, _he walked sorrowing and groaning_ (Kal. v.
13). =Muu seura vaikeni, jättäen heidät kahden kesken sanaotteluun=, _the
rest of the company was silent, leaving them to argue it out between
themselves_. =Toisinaan sydämellisesti syleillen erosivat=, _after
again heartily embracing they parted_. =Hän ei ollut ollenkaan ruma
nuorukainen=, _he was not at all a bad looking young man_ (literally,
_was not in his being_).
A few words, chiefly denoting perception, add suffixes to this
infinitive. =Sanoin sen heidän kuultensa=, _I said it in their hearing_.
=Hän teki sen rikoksen teidän tietenne=, _he committed this crime with
your knowledge_.
_Infinitive III._
The substantival nature of the Finnish infinitives is most apparent
in this form, for it is frequently used as a noun without any verbal
signification, e.g. =kuolema=, _death_; =elämä=, _life_; =sanoma=,
_speaking_ or _report_. Such a sentence as =kuvat ovat maalarin tekemät=,
which may be rendered either _the pictures are the work of the painter_,
or, _are made by the painter_, shows the connection between the purely
substantival and verbal uses of this infinitive.
Its other uses are very various.
I. It is used as a past passive participle. =Tämä kirja on isän antama=,
_this book has been given by my father_, or, _is the giving of my
father_. =Minä luen isän antamaa kirjaa=, _I read the book given by
my father_. As there is no real distinction between the noun and the
adjective, this use of a verbal substantive as a participle is not
unnatural. =Kirjoittamassansa kirjeessä hän ei ollut puhunut mitään
tästä=, _in the letter he wrote he did not say a word about it_. =Omat on
virret oppimani=, =Omat saamani sanaiset=.
This infinitive is as a rule only used as a past participle when the
agent is indicated, but in the Kalevala it is found used as simple past
participle without a genitive or affix. Kal. i. 51, =Viel’ on muitaki
sanoja, Ongelmoita oppimia, Tieohesta tempomia, Kanervoista katkomia,
Risukoista riipomia, Vesoista vetelemiä, Päästä heinän hieromia,
Raitiolta ratkomia=.
II. Most of the other cases of this infinitive are found used in a verbal
signification.
A. The case ending in =n= (which is considered by some grammarians as a
genitive, and by others, with greater probability, as an instructive) is
used with the impersonal verb =pitää=. =Ei sinun pidä tappaman=, _thou
shalt do no murder_. =Hänen pitää oleman ankara=, _he should be firm_.
This form is also used in the passive. =Lapset pitää otettaman mukaan=,
_one should take one’s children with one_. =Työt pitää saataman aikanansa
valmiiksi=, _the work should be got ready in time_.
B. The inessive expresses the action in which anyone is engaged. =He ovat
oleet jo kauan kalastamassa=, _they have long been fishing_. =Hän on
lintuja ampumassa=, _he is out shooting_. =Rupean käymään usein lukemassa
englantilaisia sanomalehtiä=, _I shall often read the English papers_.
C. The elative expresses an action from which anyone ceases, or which
is forbidden. =He tulivat kotia kalastamasta=, _they came home from
fishing_. =Milloin hyvänsä tuli huoneesen tapasi hänen aina lukemasta=,
_whenever one went into her room one always found her reading_ (v. p.
145). =Hän kielsi lapsia riitelemästä=, _he forbade the children to
quarrel_. =Jumala pelasti miehen hukkumasta=, _God preserved the man from
drowning_.