Pysäytän

Pysäytän is the first-person singular present indicative form of the Finnish verb pysäyttää. The word means to stop, halt, or bring something to a stop. It is transitive, used when the subject acts on an object such as a vehicle, a process, or an activity. In Finnish, the present tense is used for both current actions and near-future actions, so “minä pysäytän” can translate as “I stop” or “I will stop” depending on the context.

Grammatical notes: The infinitive is pysäyttää. The past tense form is pysäytin. The imperative form is pysäytä (singular). The passive present is pysäytetään. The related intransitive verb pysähtyä means to stop oneself or to come to a halt, and is formed differently. The noun pysäytys refers to a stop or halt as a concept or event.

Usage and nuance: Pysäytän is commonly used in contexts where an agent actively stops something else, such as a vehicle, a process, a machine, or an ongoing action. It conveys intentional action by the subject and can be used in both literal and figurative expressions.

Examples:

- Minä pysäytän auton täällä. (I’ll stop the car here.)

- Pysäytän videon, jotta voimme keskustella. (I’ll stop/pause the video so we can talk.)

- Pysäytä se! (Stop it!)

In English, the basic meanings are stop, halt, or interrupt. The form and related derivatives illustrate how Finnish marks agency and transitivity in the verb pysäyttää, with pysäytän specifically signaling “I stop.”