poistuvan

Poistuvan is a Finnish grammatical form related to the verb poistua, which means to leave, depart, or disappear. It is the genitive singular form of the active present participle poistuva, and it functions like an adjective when it modifies a noun. The form is not a stand-alone verb but a participle used in attributive phrases to describe a noun as being in the process of leaving.

Morphology and usage. The active present participle in Finnish generally ends in -va or -vä, and its inflection agrees with the noun it modifies. In nominative singular, the participle is poistuva (the leaving). In the genitive singular, it becomes poistuvan. This form is used to link the participial meaning to a specific noun, often in possessive or descriptive constructions. For example, poistuvan miehen kengät means the shoes of the man who is leaving; poistuvan kaupungin ihmiset means the people of the departing city. The same participle can be declined in other cases to fit the noun it describes, just as with adjectives.

Usage notes. Poistuvan commonly appears in written Finnish, especially in descriptive or narrative contexts where an action is ongoing or imminent. It helps convey temporal nuance, signaling that the described subject is in the act of leaving or is set to depart. It contrasts with the plain adjective form poistuva, which simply describes a noun as leaving without specifying grammatical relation to another noun in the sentence.

See also. Poistua, the verb meaning to leave or disappear; the active present participle poistuva; Finnish participles and their role in adjective-like modification; Finnish grammar and noun-phrase structure.