pelaavien

Pelaavien is a Finnish grammatical form derived from the present active participle pelaava (playing) of the verb pelata (to play). In Finnish, participles can be declined like adjectives, and pelaavien is the genitive plural form. It is used to describe a noun phrase that refers to people or things performing the action of playing, when that phrase is in the genitive or used in possessive-like constructions. For example, pelaavien lasten lelut means “the toys of the playing children” and pelaavien urheilijoiden tavoitteet means “the goals of the playing athletes.” The participle thus functions as a descriptive modifier, not as a standalone noun.

Usage notes: pelaavien is gender-neutral, as Finnish does not assign gender to nouns. It is common in written Finnish, especially in descriptive or formal contexts. In everyday speech, speakers might prefer alternative constructions, such as using a relative clause (for example, lapset, jotka pelaavat, “the children who are playing”) instead of a long participial phrase.

Relation to related terms: pelaava is the base present participle meaning “playing.” Pelaaja is the noun for “player,” while pelaaminen refers to the act of playing. The form pelaavien is specifically the genitive plural of the participle and appears in noun phrases that indicate possession or association with the action described by playing.