heikentäisivät

Heikentäisivät is a Finnish verb form that corresponds to “they would weaken.” It is the third-person plural present conditional form of the verb heikentää, meaning to weaken or diminish. The form is created from the stem heikentä- and the conditional present ending -isivät, which marks plural subjects in conditional constructions.

Usage and meaning: The form is used to express hypothetical or potential weakening of something, often in clauses that depend on a condition or in analysis of possible outcomes. It can appear in sentences that begin with or imply if-clauses (jos) or in statements about plausible scenarios. For example, in a sentence such as “Nämä toimenpiteet heikentäisivät kilpailuasetelmaa,” the subject is plural and the action is hypothetical. In another example, “Jos kriisi pitkittyisi, vaikutukset heikentäisivät luottamusta,” the conditional clause describes a possible development and the ensuing weakening effect.

Etymology and forms: The form is derived from the verb heikentää (to weaken) plus the Finnish conditional suffix -isi- and the plural ending -vät/-vät, yielding the third-person plural conditional present form -isivät. Related forms include the singular conditional form heikentäisi (he/she would weaken) and the present indicative heikentävät (they weaken).

See also: Heikentää, the base verb; other conditional forms such as heikentäisi.

In summary, heikentäisivät is a standard Finnish grammatical construction used to discuss hypothetical weakening by a plural subject in conditional contexts.