murtuvat

Murtuvat is a Finnish verb form that translates to “they fracture” or “they break.” It is the third-person plural present tense of the intransitive verb murtua, which means to break, crack, or crumble. The form is commonly used to describe natural or mechanical processes as well as figurative breakdowns.

Usage and examples: In geology, ice or rock can murtua under pressure; in medicine, bones may murtua on impact (luu murtuu). In everyday language, plans, relations, or systems can murtua when stressed. Example: Kivet murtuvat helposti kylmässä vedessä. Suunnitelmat murtuvat usein aikapulan vuoksi. These sentences illustrate both literal and metaphorical usage.

Grammar note: murtua is an intransitive verb. The present tense forms include murtuu for singular subjects and murtuvat for plural subjects. Thus, you would say “kivet murtuvat” (the rocks crack) or “luu murtuu” (the bone cracks).

Etymology and related terms: The verb derives from the root murt- meaning to break. The related noun murtuma means a fracture, and the past participle murtunut means cracked or fractured. These terms are commonly used in both scientific and everyday Finnish to describe damage or breakdown.

See also: murtuma, murtua.