käytivät

Käytivät is the past tense, imperfect indicative, third-person plural form of the Finnish verb käyttää, meaning to use. It expresses that a group of people performed the action of using something in the past. In English this corresponds to “they used” or “they utilized.”

Morphology and usage notes: Käytvät form the past tense by adding the plural past ending to the verb stem. The form is active voice and refers to a concrete or definite use performed by the subject “they.” The past tense contrast with the passive past form käytettiin, which means “was used” or “were used.” Finnish verbs with this ending can take a variety of direct objects in sentences such as nouns or pronouns.

Common usage: Käytivät appears in contexts where a group used a tool, resource, or means. It can describe practical actions, such as employing equipment, consuming time, or applying methods. The verb is often followed by a direct object in its partitive or accusative form, depending on the sentence structure. Examples include: He käyttivät vanhaa autoa koko matkan ajan. He käyttivät uusia työkaluja ratkaistakseen tehtävän. They used old car for the whole trip; They used new tools to solve the task.

Related forms and derivations: The base verb is käyttää (to use). The related noun for the concept is käyttö (use, utilization), and related forms cover various tenses and moods in Finnish, including the present tense käytän, käytät, hän käyttää, and the passive form käytetään.

Etymology: Käyttää and käyttö share a common root in Finnish that denotes use or utilization, forming a core part of related vocabulary in discussion of tools, methods, and resources.