finnas

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

finnas (present tense fins, past tense fans, supine funnes or funnis)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of finnast

Old English

Noun

finnas

1. nominative/accusative plural of finn

Swedish

Etymology

The passive form of finna, which has taken on the meaning of "to exist". From Old Swedish finnas, from Old Norse finnask. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål finnes and Norwegian Nynorsk finnast.

Verb

finnas (present finns, preterite fanns, supine funnits)

1. (deponent) to exist; to be

   Synonym: finnas till

   Kan det möjligen finnas ett odjur i Loch Ness?

   Could there possibly be a monster in Loch Ness?

   Frågan är om Gud finns eller inte.

   The question is whether God exists or not.

   Finns det fler kakor?

   Are there more cookies?

   Stigen finns inte utmärkt på kartan

   The path is [exists] not marked on the map ["är inte utmärkt" works too, but makes it sound possibly more deliberate – compare "does not appear on the map" vs. "is not on the map"]

   • 1994, Uno Svenningsson, “Under ytan [Beneath the Surface]”, in Uno‎:

     Under ytan finns stora och små. Under ytan finns det skratt och gråt. Det finns mycket där som händer som vi inte kan förstå, men vi hittar alltid svaren där i botten av oss själva. Under ytan. Jag vet, jag vet, jag vet att du finns där.

     Beneath the surface, there are [exist] big and small. Beneath the surface, there is [exists] laughter and tears [crying]. There is [exists] a lot there that happens that we cannot understand, but we always find the answers, there at the bottom of ourselves. Beneath the surface. I know, I know, I know that you are [exist] there.

2. passive infinitive of finna

Usage notes

The native intuition is "to exist," except usually unidiomatic as a translation. See the usage notes for bli, man, and skall for three other examples of words that have a direct translation that is often unidiomatic or a poor match for tone.

Conjugation

Conjugation of finnas (class 3 strong)

	active		passive
infinitive	—		finnas
supine	—		funnits
imperative	—		finns
imper. plural1	—		finnens
	present	past	present	past
indicative	—	—	finns, finnes	fanns
ind. plural1	—	—	finnas	funnos
subjunctive2	—	—	finnes	funnes
present participle		finnandes
past participle		—

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References

• finnas in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• finnas in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• finnas in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• finans