Tummentavat

Tummentavat is a Finnish word with grammatical and descriptive uses derived from the verb tummenttaa, meaning to darken or dim. In standard Finnish, tummentavat is most commonly the third person plural present tense form of tummenttaa—so it translates as “they darken” or “they dim.” The form can also function as a present active participle in plural, serving as an attributive adjective to describe nouns that are causing darkening or dimming.

From a linguistic perspective, tummentavat illustrates how Finnish verbs extend into participial adjectives. The base stem tummenttaa combines with the present tense plural ending -vat, while the present participle forms attach the -ava/-äva suffixes, with plural agreement determined by the noun they modify. This allows tummentavat to describe processes, states, or qualities in a sentence, not only actions attributed to a subject.

Usage and nuance: in everyday language, tummenttaa and its forms refer to reducing brightness or visibility—literal dimming in lighting, photography, or optics, as well as metaphorical dimming of mood or atmosphere. The participial form tummentava can describe objects or phenomena that cause dimming, for example “tummentavat sävyt” (dim/darker tones) or “tummentavat varjot” (darkening shadows). In technical contexts, more specific terms such as hämärtää or himmentää may be preferred, but tummentavat appears in descriptive writing and grammar examples to illustrate verb-conjugation and participial usage.

See also: tummenttaa, tumma, hämärtää.