laajentavat

Laajentavat is an inflected form of the Finnish verb laajentaa, meaning they expand or widen. It is the third-person plural present indicative form, used when the subject of the sentence is plural and performing the action of expanding in the present tense. For example: Monet yritykset laajentavat liiketoimintaansa (Many companies are expanding their business).

Usage and nuance: Laajentaa can refer to widening physical dimensions, expanding activities, services, markets, or operations. The form laajentavat is common in business, urban planning, technology, and organizational contexts where multiple actors are undertaking expansion at the same time. It does not specify what is being expanded beyond the object that accompanies the verb, which is often in the partitive or possessive form, as in toimintaansa or markkinoitaan.

Etymology and morphology: Laajentaa derives from laaja, meaning wide, with the causative/infinitive-building pattern that creates a verb meaning to cause to become wide or to expand. The finite form laajentavat signals that the subject is plural and currently performing the action.

Related terms: laajentaminen (the expansion), laajentuminen (the process of expanding), laajentua (to expand oneself, intransitively). The word is part of a family of Finnish verbs describing growth, extension, or broadening of scope, capacity, or area.