Selostava

Selostava is a Finnish adjective and present active participle formed from the verb selostaa, meaning to describe, report, or recount. As a participle in -va/-vä form, it functions as a descriptive modifier in sentences. The term denotes content or prose that presents information in a straightforward, descriptive manner rather than arguing or evaluating it.

For usage, selostava describes texts or passages that relay facts, data, or events with emphasis on detail and clarity. It is common in educational, journalistic, and technical writing to distinguish descriptive material from evaluative or persuasive text. Typical collocations include selostava teksti (descriptive/expository text), selostava kuvaus (descriptive description), and selostava raportointi (descriptive reporting).

Grammatically selostava agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case, for example selostava teksti, selostavan tekstin, selostavaa tekstiä. It is one of several -va/-vä participles used to categorize prose by its mode of presentation, alongside kuvaileva (descriptive in a broader sense) and kertova (narrative).

Related terms include selostus, a noun meaning description or account, and selostaa, the verb to describe or report. The concept is primarily a stylistic or compositional label rather than a separate linguistic class.