katsovat

Katsovat is a Finnish verb form. It is the third-person plural present indicative form of the verb katsoa, which means to look, to watch, or to regard. As a finite verb form, katsovat is used when the subject is plural and the action takes place in the present.

Morphology and usage:

The form is built from the verb stem katso- plus the present plural ending -vat, a standard ending for 3rd person plural in Finnish present tense. In normal text, katsovat accompanies a plural subject, and it governs an object in the partitive case when the action is transitive. For example, "He katsovat televisiota" means they are watching television, and "Mitä he katsovat?" asks what they are looking at.

Meaning and nuance:

Katsovat primarily conveys the act of looking or watching. In Finnish, the sense can extend to observing or considering something, depending on context and supporting vocabulary, but the core meaning remains tied to sight or attention.

Grammatical notes:

Katsovat is a finite verb form and cannot stand alone as a noun. It requires a subject (explicit or implied) and, in most cases, an object or complement to complete the meaning. It is one of the standard present-tense formulations used in everyday Finnish.

See also:

Katsoa, Finnish verb conjugation, Finnish grammar.