tegutsevat

Tegutsevat is the partitive singular form of the present active participle of the Estonian verb tegutsema, meaning to act or operate. It functions as an attributive adjective that indicates ongoing action by the noun it modifies. As a participle, tegutsev originates from tegutsema and shares its semantic field of activity.

In Estonian, the present active participle has different inflected forms that agree with the noun they modify in number and case. Tegutsevat is used when the noun is in the partitive case, for instance tegutsevat inimest (an acting person in partitive). The nominative singular form is tegutsev; genitive singular tegutseva; partitive plural tegutsevaid, etc. The participle can also occur in predicative or adjectival positions, e.g., tegutsev inimene (an acting person).

Usage: Tegutsevat is common in descriptive phrases such as "tegutsevat ettevõtet" (an operating company) or "tegutsevat inimest" (an active person). In everyday speech, the more general adjective form tegutsev is often used, but tegutsevat appears in contexts requiring a noun in partitive.

Etymology: Tegutsevat is derived from tegutsema, with the present active participle suffix -v and case endings as in Estonian adjectives. It belongs to the class of participles that function as adjectives in Estonian grammar.

See also: tegutsema, tegutsev, Estonian grammar, participles.