põlevate

Põlevate is the genitive plural form of the Estonian adjective põlev, which means burning, fiery, or molten. In Estonian, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in number and case, so põlev has different forms for different grammatical roles. The nominative plural form is põlevad, while the genitive plural form is põlevate. Other common forms include põleva in the genitive singular and põlevat in the partitive singular.

The primary function of põlevate is to indicate a property relating to multiple nouns in the genitive case. This form is used in phrases where the noun is in the genitive plural, often translating roughly to “of burning …” or “burning …” in English. For example, the phrase põlevate leegide valgus can be translated as “the light of burning flames,” where leegide is the genitive plural of leeg (flame).

Usage context and note:

- Põlevate appears mainly in descriptive or literary contexts, where a phrase needs to express a property tied to several items.

- It is not a standalone lexical item; rather, it is a grammatical form of põlev that surfaces in sentences and phrases.

- Understanding põlevate requires basic knowledge of Estonian adjective declension and noun case systems.

Related terms and forms:

- põlev (base form, meaning burning/fiery)

- põlevad (nominative plural)

- põleva (genitive singular)

- põlevat (partitive singular)

Põlevate thus functions as a versatile grammatical form used to describe or relate multiple nouns in genitive constructions, particularly in descriptive and poetic language.