kirjoittavat

Kirjoittavat is a Finnish verb form. It is the present tense, third-person plural, of the verb kirjoittaa, meaning "to write." It is used when the subject is plural, for example: "He kirjoittavat kirjaa" (They are writing a book).

In Finnish, the finite verb shows person and number, and the suffix -vat or -vät marks the third person plural present tense. The choice between -vat and -vät follows vowel harmony; for stems with back vowels, -vat is used, as in kirjoittavat. The form can denote either a habitual action or an ongoing action in the present, depending on context, since Finnish generally uses the present tense for both senses.

For comparison, other present forms include: minä kirjoitan (I write), sinä kirjoitat (you write), hän kirjoittaa (he/she writes); me kirjoitamme, te kirjoitatte, he kirjoittavat. The finite form kirjoittavat specifically indicates a plural subject in the present tense. Finnish also has a present active participle, kirjoittava, meaning "writing," which is a non-finite form used in different constructions.

Overall, kirjoittavat is a standard, neutral present-tense form used to describe actions of multiple writers or groups performing the act of writing. Its usage aligns with typical Finnish verb conjugation patterns and vowel harmony rules.