Kelluvat

Kelluvat is the third-person plural present tense form of the Finnish verb kellua, meaning to float, drift, or hang on a surface in liquid or air. It is used when the subject is plural, for example: Laivat kelluvat järvellä (The ships float on the lake).

Grammatical notes: Kellua is an intransitive verb, so kelluvat typically appears with a subject in the nominative and does not take a direct object. The present tense forms are: minä kellun, sinä kellut, hän kelluu, me kellumme, te kellutte, he kelluvat. The participle kelluva functions as an adjective meaning “floating,” as in kelluva laiva (a floating ship) or kelluvat kappaleet (floating pieces).

Usage and nuance: Kelluvat describes buoyancy or suspension on a surface, most commonly on water but also in air or other fluids where objects remain on or near the surface without sinking. It can describe natural phenomena (ice, debris) or man-made objects (boats, buoys) that stay on the surface due to buoyancy or design. The term is neutral and widely used in everyday language, nautical contexts, and descriptive writing.

Related forms: The present participle kelluva is commonly used adjectivally, and the root kel- appears in related senses of floating or hanging. Other tenses and moods are formed regularly according to Finnish verb conjugation patterns.

See also: Finnish grammar, kellua, floating in Finnish literature and maritime vocabulary.