Laittavat

Laittavat is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Finnish verb laittaa, meaning to put, to place, or to prepare. It is used with plural subjects such as he or ne and denotes actions in the present tense, for example, "Hän" is singular, while "he laittavat ruokaa" means they are putting or preparing food.

Morphology and usage

In Finnish conjugation, laittaa belongs to a common verb class, and the present plural forms add the suffix -vat (when the preceding vowel is a back vowel). The full paradigm includes: minä laitan, sinä laitat, hän laittaa, me laitamme, te laitatte, he laittavat. The form laittavat specifically marks third-person plural and is used for ongoing or habitual present actions. The pronunciation preserves the double t from the stem laitta- when the suffix -vat is added, yielding laittavat.

Examples and nuance

Laittavat ruokaa (they are cooking/they prepare food) and laittavat pöydän (they set the table) are typical usages. The present tense in Finnish does not distinguish a continuous aspect; laittavat can express both general statements of habit and current actions depending on context. Other related forms include 3rd singular hän laittaa and 2nd plural te laitatte, which illustrate how the suffix system encodes person and number.

See also

laittaa, Finnish verb conjugation, Finnish grammar.