Saapuvat

Saapuvat is the third-person plural present tense form of the Finnish verb saapua, which means to arrive. It is used when the subject is plural, such as they or multiple entities performing the action of arriving.

In Finnish, the present tense forms show person and number, and the plural third-person form typically ends with -vat or -vät. For saapua, the form saapuvat corresponds to this pattern and is used with plural subjects. The singular present form is saapuu. Other related forms include saavumme for “we arrive” and saavutte for “you (plural) arrive.”

Saapuvat is commonly found in everyday language, news reports, travel writing, and descriptions of events where multiple actors are arriving at a destination. It does not convey any special meaning beyond the action of arriving, but it does indicate plurality of the subject and present timing.

Examples:

- Laivat saapuvat satamaan aamulla. (The ships arrive at the harbor in the morning.)

- He saapuvat maihin tänä iltana. (They arrive ashore this evening.)

- Joukko urheilijoita saapuvat lentokentälle aamulla. (A group of athletes arrives at the airport in the morning.)

Etymology and related forms: saapuvat derives from the verb saapua, with the present plural ending -vat. The form is part of ordinary Finnish verb conjugation and is not tied to a specific domain, making it widely applicable in descriptive and narrative contexts.

See also: saapua, saavumme, saavutte, saapuva.