Kuuntelemassa

Kuuntelemassa is the present active participle of the Finnish verb kuunnella, meaning to listen. It is formed from the verb stem kuuntele- plus the participial suffix -massa, yielding kuuntelemassa. This non-finite form marks the action of listening as being in progress and is commonly used with the auxiliary olla to express a continuing action, similar to the English present continuous.

In practice, kuuntelemassa is most often found in clauses that use a finite auxiliary, as in Olen kuuntelemassa radiota (I am listening to the radio) or He ovat kuuntelemassa ohjeita (They are listening to the instructions). The participle itself does not convey person or number; those are supplied by the auxiliary verb. Kuuntelemassa can also function in attributive or relative constructions to describe a noun, for example kuuntelemassa oleva oppilas (the student who is listening).

The form is one of several non-finite participial structures in Finnish. It belongs to the family of present active participles created from the -massa/-mäs suffix, which expresses a continuing action associated with the subject of the clause. While kuuntelemassa is most common in progressive contexts, Finnish often expresses aspect through context and verb choice rather than a distinct tense system.

See also: Finnish grammar, present active participle, non-finite verb forms, olla + participle constructions.