Kuvailevat

Kuvailevat is a Finnish verb form derived from the verb kuvailla, meaning to describe or depict. It represents the third-person plural present tense, translating roughly to “they describe” or “they are describing.” The form is used when the subject of the sentence is a group of people or things performing the action in the present.

Grammatical role and construction: kuvailevat is formed from the verb stem kuvaile- with the present tense plural ending. In Finnish, the third-person plural present endings are typically -vat or -vät, with the exact form determined by vowel harmony and the preceding stem. This form functions as a finite verb in clauses containing subjects such as he, he pitivät, käsikirjoittajat, and so on.

Usage and examples: In everyday Finnish, kuvailevat sentences express ongoing or habitual description by multiple subjects. Examples include: Käsikirjoittajat kuvailevat hahmoja monin tavoin. He kuvailevat tapahtumaa oikein. They describe the characters in many ways; They describe the event accurately.

Related forms and notes: The verb kuvailla has other tenses and moods, such as past tense forms (e.g., kuvailivat) and infinitive forms. Finnish also has participial forms derived from kuvailla, which can function as adjectives in noun phrases, though those forms are not the same as the finite kuvailevat. Etymologically, kuvailla combines a root related to kuva (picture/image) with a verb-forming suffix.

See also: Finnish grammar, verb conjugation, kuvailla, kuvailu.