Keräätä

Kerätä is a Finnish verb meaning to gather, collect, or assemble. It can refer to tangible items such as berries, coins, or stamps, as well as to abstract things like data, information, or memories. The verb is also used in the sense of harvesting crops or fruit. In fundraising or charitable contexts, kerätä can mean to raise or collect money.

Grammatical overview: Kerätä is formed with the present tense first-person singular kerään, second-person singular keräät, third-person singular kerää, first-person plural keräämme, second-person plural keräätte, and third-person plural keräävät. The imperfect forms are keräsin, keräsit, keräsi, keräsimme, keräsitte, keräsivät. The passive is kerätään. The imperative forms are kerää and kerätkää. Non-finite forms include the infinitive kerätä, the present participle keräätessä, and the past participle kerätty or kerännyt, used in different grammatical constructions.

Usage notes: Kerätä takes nouns in the partitive or genitive depending on meaning and aspect, for example kerätä marjoja (to gather berries) or kerätä rahaa (to raise money). It collocates with both concrete objects and abstract concepts, enabling expressions about collecting information, memories, receipts, or resources. In contrast to some synonyms, kerätä emphasizes the act of bringing items together rather than simply piling them up.

Derivatives and related terms: Keräys (collection, fundraising event), keräilijä (collector), kerätty (collected, passive participle). The word is native Finnish and yields related forms such as kerättyjä tuotteita or rahankeräys in compound expressions.