Paahtavat

Paahtavat is a Finnish verb form meaning “they roast.” It is the third-person plural present indicative of the verb paahtaa, which denotes the act of roasting. The form is used to describe a present or habitual action performed by multiple subjects and is common in everyday language, in industry descriptions, recipes, and production reports.

In usage, paahtaa is transitive, and its direct object is typically in the partitive case. Examples: “He paahtavat kahvin papuja” (They roast coffee beans) or “He paahtavat pähkinöitä” (They roast nuts). The present tense can also appear in menus or promotional text to state ongoing processes, such as a roastery describing its activities.

Related forms include paahtava, the present active participle meaning “roasting,” used as an adjective or in participial phrases; and paahto, the noun for the roast or roasting process. The term paahtaja refers to a roaster, either a person or a machine. The verb contrasts with the past tense form paahtivat, which means “they roasted.”

Paahtavat thus functions as a basic, versatile present-tense form in Finnish, reflecting the ongoing action of roasting by multiple subjects. Its use conveys literal roasting of foods (coffee beans, nuts, spices) and can appear in technical, culinary, and marketing contexts, as well as in general language.