Puhuisivat

Puhuisivat is a Finnish verb form that represents the third-person plural conditional mood of the verb puhua, meaning to speak or talk. The form expresses hypothetical action or polite requests and is commonly used in conditional clauses (for example, after jos, “if”) or in indirect speech to soften statements.

Morphology and use: The conditional form is built from the verb stem puhu- with the suffix -isivat, yielding puhu- + isivat = puhuisivat. This is distinct from the present indicative form puhuvat (they speak) and the past tense form puhusivat (they spoke). Other persons in the conditional are minä puhuisin, sinä puhuisit, hän puhuisisi, me puhuisimme, te puhuisitte, while puhuisivat is specifically third-person plural.

Function in language: In Finnish, the conditional mood is used to describe what would happen under certain conditions, rather than what is certain to occur. It can convey hypothetical scenarios, polite requests, or softened statements, often appearing in subordinate clauses or in reported speech.

Examples:

- Jos he puhuisivat suomea paremmin, he ymmärtäisivät toisiaan. (If they spoke Finnish better, they would understand each other.)

- Puhuisivatko he hiljempaa? (Would they speak more quietly?)

Relation to other forms: Puhuisivat contrasts with puhuisin (1st person singular conditional) or puhuisimme (1st person plural conditional), among others. It is one of the key verb forms used to express hypotheticals in Finnish.