rakentamassa

Rakentamassa is the present active participle of the Finnish verb rakentaa, meaning to build. It conveys the sense of “in the act of building” or simply “building.” The form is most often used with a form of olla (to be) to express progressive action, as in hän on rakentamassa taloa, “he is in the process of building a house.”

In addition to its verbal use, rakentamassa can function as part of phrases that describe something currently under construction. A common construction is rakentamassa oleva talo, meaning “the house that is under construction.” Here rakentamassa marks the activity, while the word oleva links it to the noun talo to form a relative clause.

Form and function:

- The suffix -massa marks the present active participle of rakentaa.

- With olla, rakentamassa expresses ongoing action (present or near future, depending on context).

- As a modifier, it appears in phrases like rakentamassa oleva talo to describe objects that are being built.

Relation to related terms:

- Rakentaminen (construction) is a noun form derived from rakentaa.

- Rakentava is an adjective meaning “constructive” or can describe something related to construction, though it functions differently from the participle in phrases like rakentamassa oleva talo.

Rakentamassa thus serves as a versatile non-finite verb form in Finnish, enabling concise expression of ongoing construction activity and its attribution to nouns.