Ohittivat

Ohittivat is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Finnish verb ohittaa. The verb meaning mainly centers on moving past or surpassing something, and it is used in both literal and figurative contexts. As a verb, ohittaa denotes overtaking or passing by, typically in a spatial sense, such as driving past another vehicle or moving ahead of someone in a line or in a race.

In its primary sense, ohittaa is used for physical overtaking. Examples include sentences like He ohittivat auton or He ohittivat matkansa aikana useita kylttejä, meaning that they overtook the car or passed several signs along the journey. In competitive contexts, ohittaa can mean to surpass opponents or to outpace them, as in Joukkue ohitti vastustajansa 3–0, meaning the team outpaced or defeated its opponent by three goals.

Figuratively, the verb can also mean to bypass, omit, or skip something, such as a topic or a step in a sequence. For example, Hän ohitti aiheen ja siirtyi seuraavaan, meaning he skipped the topic and moved on. The nuance depends on context, with overtaking or surpassing usually tied to physical or competitive movement, and bypassing to discourse or procedural use.

Ohittivat, as a past-tense form, commonly appears in news reporting, sports commentary, and narrative prose to describe actions where groups or subjects moved past others or surpassed them. The related noun form is ohitus, referring to the act of overtaking or a bypass.