juoksevan

Juoksevan is a Finnish grammatical form used as the genitive singular of the present active participle juokseva, which means “running” or “the one who runs.” In Finnish, participles can function as adjectives or noun modifiers, and their genitive forms are used to link to a noun in contexts such as possession or description. The phrase juoksevan koiran, for example, means “of the running dog,” illustrating how the participle’s genitive form modifies the noun.

Etymology and usage notes: juokseva is derived from the verb juosta (to run) with the present active participle ending -va. The genitive ending -n attaches to juokseva to form juoksevan, which then governs the associated noun in genitive phrases. This construction is common in Finnish and enables concise descriptions like juoksevan koiran jäljet (“the tracks of the running dog”) or se on juokseva koira (“it is a running dog”).

Common functions: The form can appear in various syntactic positions, including attributive noun phrases and relative-like clauses, where the emphasis is on an ongoing action described by the participle. It is not a proper noun and does not indicate a specific person or entity; rather, it conveys a state or action associated with the noun.

Examples:

- Se on juokseva koira. (It is a running dog.)

- Jäljissä näkyi juoksevan koiran tassun jälkiä. (The tracks showed the paws of the running dog.)

- Juoksevan koiran omistaja odotti. (The owner of the running dog waited.)

See also: Finnish grammar, present active participle, juosta (to run), participles in Finnish.