kävelevä

Kävelevä is the present active participle of the Finnish verb kävellä, meaning to walk. It functions as an adjective and, in some contexts, as part of a noun phrase, describing someone or something performing the action of walking.

Form and inflection: It is formed by adding the suffix -va/-vä to the verb stem kävele-, producing kävelevä. The participle agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case (for example, kävelevä mies in nominative singular, kävelevät miehet in nominative plural, kävelevän miehen in genitive singular).

Usage: It is commonly used attributively, as in "kävelevä lapsi" or "kävelevä nainen." Predicative use with the copular verb olla is possible but less frequent; for example, "Mies on kävelevä." In everyday language, however, one often expresses ongoing action with the simple present tense "kävelee" (he/she walks) rather than the participle.

Etymology and relation: Kävelevä is derived from the verb kävellä through the standard present active participle suffix -va/-vä, a common formation in Finnish for describing ongoing actions. The form follows ordinary Finnish inflection and harmony patterns.

See also: Finnish present active participle, Finnish grammar, participles in Finnish.