poistuvaa

Poistuvaa is a Finnish linguistic form that functions as the partitive singular of the present active participle poistuva, meaning removing or disappearing. In practice, poistuvaa is used as an adjective in adjectival noun phrases or as a predicative element describing something that is fading or being removed. It conveys a sense of ongoing transition or partial, impermanent state.

The form is created from the verb poistaa (to remove) by attaching the present-participle suffix -va and the partitive ending -a, yielding poistuvaa. It typically appears with nouns in contexts where the quantity is indefinite or where the action is not completed, and it agrees with the head noun in number and case just like other Finnish adjectives used in partitive constructions. Commonly, it takes the partitive case when describing a mass or an indeterminate amount.

Usage examples include poistuvaa valoa: for instance, "poistuvaa valoa kaikuvat taivaslauseet" to convey fading light, or "poistuvaa kuumetta" referring to waning fever, and "poistuvaa muistia" describing fading memory. In poetry and descriptive prose, poistuvaa often emphasizes temporality and fragility, highlighting phenomena that are transient or gradually vanishing.

Semantic nuance of poistuvaa spans physical disappearance and figurative fading of conditions, qualities, or states. It is the partitive counterpart to the adjectival poistuva used in nominative contexts, such as "poistuva valo" (disappearing light). Related forms include poistuva (present active participle in other cases and numbers) and poistuvia, the plural adjectival form used with plural nouns in appropriate cases.

See also: Finnish grammar, participles, partitive in Finnish.