Supistamme

Supistamme is a Finnish wordform: the first-person plural present indicative of the verb supistaa, meaning "we reduce", "we shorten" or "we contract." It appears in contexts where an agent actively makes something smaller, fewer or tighter, and contrasts with the intransitive verb supistua, which denotes that something contracts or diminishes on its own.

Grammatical role and forms

Supistaa is a regular verb of the first conjugation; its present-tense paradigm includes supistan, supistat, supistaa, supistamme, supistatte and supistavat. The negative present uses the auxiliary negative: en supista, et supista, ei supista, emme supista, ette supista, eivät supista. The passive present is supistetaan ("it is reduced"). The related noun supistus means "reduction" or "contraction."

Usage and examples

Supistamme is used in administrative, economic, technical and everyday contexts: for instance, Me supistamme budjettia ensi vuonna ("We are reducing the budget next year") or Supistamme takken hihansuita ("We will shorten the coat sleeves"). In scientific or medical descriptions, supistaa can describe intentional constriction or tightening by an agent, while physiological contractions are more often described with supistua or the noun supistus.

Stylistic and collocational notes

The verb is neutral in tone and common in both spoken and written Finnish. Collocations include budgetary, legislative and manufacturing contexts (e.g., supistaa säästöjä, supistaa lakeja, supistaa materiaalia). Its causative nature distinguishes it from intransitive alternatives when an actor effects the change.