puhastavat

Puhastavat is a Finnish verb form meaning “they purify” or “they cleanse.” It is the third-person plural present indicative form of the verb puhastaa, which denotes the act of purifying or cleansing. In ordinary usage, puhastavat describes actions performed by multiple subjects. For example: Tutkijat puhastavat näytteitä (Researchers purify samples). The object of puhastaa is typically in the partitive case when the action is ongoing or indefinite, as in puhastavat vettä (they purify water) or puhastavat epäpuhtauksia (they remove impurities).

As a participial form, the present active participle puhastava is used to describe something that purifies or is purifying, for example puhastava aine (a purifying agent). The related past participle puhastettu means “purified,” as in puhdistettu vesi or puhastettu vesi (purified water). Finnish also has nouns related to purification, such as puhastus (cleaning, purification).

In contexts such as environmental science, water treatment, and industrial processing, puhastavat is a standard verb for describing cleansing or purification steps carried out by people, processes, or equipment. The form is common in technical texts as well as everyday language, reflecting the broad applicability of purification actions across different fields.