määräävät

Määräävät is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Finnish verb määrätä, meaning to determine, set, or decree. It is used when the subject (they) is performing the act of prescribing or fixing rules, terms, or obligations in an official or authoritative context. The sense ranges from fixing limits and conditions to establishing procedures.

The verb is built on the noun määrä, which conveys rule, provision, or measure, and the suffix -ttää that marks the verb itself. Määrätä commonly appears in formal language, especially legal, administrative, or organizational texts, where authorities, bodies, or groups make binding decisions. The form määräävät typically governs an object referring to what is being determined, such as regulations, standards, or guidelines.

Usage and nuance: Määräävät emphasizes authoritative decision-making by multiple actors (they). It often appears in statements about policy or practice, for example, when describing how institutions set rules or procedures. In everyday Finnish, more casual verbs like säätää or päättää are sometimes used, but määräävät remains standard in formal prose.

Related forms include the infinitive määrätä, the noun määrä, and the adjective määräävä meaning determinative or authoritative. The lexeme is part of a broader family dealing with rules and decisions and shares semantic territory with other Finnish regulatory terms.

Example: Kunnat ja viranomaiset määräävät, mitkä rakennusmääräykset ovat voimassa. This illustrates the plural subject issuing binding standards in a formal context.