Niputtavat

Niputtavat is a Finnish verb form. It is the third-person plural present indicative of the verb niputtaa, meaning to nip or pinch lightly. The form is used to describe an action performed by several subjects in the present.

The present tense in Finnish is formed by adding the appropriate suffix to the verb stem. For niputtaa, the present stem is niputt-, and the third-person plural suffix is -vat (with -vät in some phonological environments), yielding niputtavat. The full present-tense paradigm for this verb, illustrating the standard persons, is: minä niputan, sinä niputat, hän niputtaa, me niputamme, te niputatte, he niputtavat.

Usage notes: Niputtavat is a transitive verb that takes a direct object to indicate what is being nipped. It is used in declarative statements about present actions, as well as in questions or descriptions of ongoing or habitual activity. In negative sentences, Finnish normally uses ei plus the singular third-person present form, so the negation would be ei niputa in a typical clause referring to “they” in the present.

Grammatical relatives include niputti (he pinched) for the simple past, niputtivat (they pinched) for the past plural, and the participle niputtanut (has pinched). The verb and its forms follow standard Finnish verb conjugation patterns, with vowel harmony and stem modification handled in common ways for -taa/-ätä verbs.

See also: Finnish verb conjugation, niputtaa, Finnish morphology.