Paikantavat

Paikantavat is a Finnish verb form that translates roughly as “they locate.” It is the third-person plural present indicative form of the verb paikantaa, meaning to determine the location of something or to localize. In some contexts it can also be understood as “locate” or “track.”

In grammatical terms, paikantaa is a transitive verb, and paikantavat is used with plural subjects. For example, Tutkijat paikantavat kadonneen henkilön means “The researchers locate the missing person.” The form appears in sentences describing actions where multiple agents, devices, or systems perform locating or geolocation tasks.

Usage of paikantavat spans several fields. It appears in discussions of navigation, search and rescue, surveillance, geolocation software, archaeology, and surveying, where multiple actors or tools work to determine positions or locations. It can be found in reports, technical descriptions, and news articles that describe locating processes or outcomes.

Related terms include paikantajat (locators) as a noun form and paikannus or paikannusprosessi (localization or localization process) as broader concepts. The present participle form paikantava describes the act of locating and can be used attributively, for example paikantava laite meaning “locating device.” The language reflects Finnish verb morphology with -vat indicating third-person plural present tense.