koristavad

Koristavad is an Estonian verb form meaning “they clean” and is the present tense, third-person plural form of the verb koristama, which means “to clean” or “to tidy.” The infinitive is koristama. The present tense form koristavad is used with plural subjects, such as groups of people or multiple items performing cleaning actions.

Koristama is an imperfective verb, so koristavad describes an ongoing or repeated cleaning action rather than a completed event. This makes the form suitable for describing routines, habitual activities, or actions that are currently in progress.

In Estonian, verbs show agreement with the subject in person and number. The third-person singular present form is koristab (he/she/it cleans), while the third-person plural present form is koristavad (they clean). This distinction helps indicate who is performing the action without needing a separate pronoun.

Koristavad is common in everyday Estonian, appearing in domestic contexts such as discussions of household chores, work duties, or community cleaning efforts. It exemplifies how Estonian verbs encode subject information directly in the verb form and how the imperfective aspect is used to describe ongoing activities. See also: koristama, Estonian grammar.