lakata

Lakata is a Finnish verb meaning to cease or stop, used to denote the cessation of an action or habit. It is intransitive and typically takes another verb in the infinitive to indicate what is being stopped, as in lakata tehdä jotakin ("to stop doing something"). It can also be used with a noun indicating a state, but is most common with another verb.

Conjugation and forms: In the present tense the forms are minä lakkaan, sinä lakkaat, hän lakkaa, me lakkaamme, te lakkaatte, he lakkaavat. The past tense forms include hän lakkasi, me lakkasimme, te lakkasitte, he lakkasivat. The perfect form uses the participle lakannut with olla, e.g., olen lakannut tehdä. The imperative forms are lakkaa (singular) and lakkakaa (plural).

Usage notes: Lakata often emphasizes the cessation of an ongoing action rather than a single completed act, and can be more formal than lopettaa in some contexts. It is common in written Finnish when discussing habits, processes, or policies being halted. It is used with infinitives such as lakata kuormittamasta or lakata valittamasta to express stopping those actions.

Related terms: Lopettaa means to finish or bring to an end, often used for concluding actions or processes; pysähtyä means to come to a stop, physically or figuratively.

See also: Finnish grammar, Finnish verbs.