suunnistavat

Suunnistavat is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Finnish verb suunnistaa, meaning to navigate or to participate in orienteering. The form is used when the subject is plural and the action occurs in the present. In practice, suunnistavat can describe people who are orienteering or who navigate using a map and compass in terrain.

The infinitive suunnistaa belongs to Finnish verbs of the -istaa type. In the present tense, the third-person plural ending is -vat or -vät; for this verb the form becomes suunnistavat. This pattern is parallel to other -istaa verbs, such as kirjoittaa -> kirjoittavat or puhua -> puhuvat.

In usage, suunnistavat often appears with explicit subjects: for example, He suunnistavat maastossa kartan avulla, meaning They are orienteering in the forest with the help of a map. The related noun suunnistus denotes the sport of orienteering, while suunnistajat refers to people who practice it.

See also: suunnistus, suunnistajat, kartta, kompassi.