kattavat

Kattavat is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Finnish verb kattaa, meaning to cover, include, or span. It is used when the subject is plural and performs the action of covering or including something in a sentence.

In ordinary use, kattavat indicates that multiple entities are covering or addressing a set of items, topics, or areas. For example, “Kampanjan tiedotteet kattavat useita aiheita.” translates as “The campaign bulletins cover several topics.” Another example is “Yritykset kattavat asiakkaiden tarpeet,” meaning “The companies cover the customers’ needs.” The form requires a plural subject; the corresponding singular form is kattaa (he/she/it covers).

Kattavat also appears as an inflected form of the adjective kattava, meaning comprehensive or extensive. When used attributively before a plural noun, kattavat describes the scope or breadth of the noun, as in “kattavat kustannukset” (comprehensive costs) or “kattavat palvelut” (comprehensive services). In this adjectival use, the word functions like a normal Finnish adjective and agrees with the noun in number.

Summary: kattavat primarily functions as the present plural verb form of kattaa, signaling that multiple subjects cover or include something. It can also be an inflected form of the adjective kattava, used to describe something as comprehensive when placed before a plural noun.