teravustavad

Teravustavad is an Estonian verb form describing the action of sharpening or intensifying, and it appears as the third-person plural present tense form of the verb teravustama. The infinitive teravustama means to sharpen, whet, or to make something more acute, either physically (as with a blade) or metaphorically (as in intensifying a situation or a feeling).

Grammatically, teravustavad is formed from the root teravust- plus the infinitive ending -ama, with a present-tense plural ending -vad. This makes it correspond to the English “they sharpen” or “they intensify.” In sentences, it functions as the finite predicate for a subject in the plural, and like many Estonian verbs, it can take objects in appropriate cases to specify what is sharpened or intensified. For example, Nad teravustavad noad means “They sharpen knives,” and pingeid teravustavad or similar constructions can be used to describe figurative intensification of tensions.

Usage notes include recognizing that teravustavad can cover both literal sharpening and figurative intensification, depending on context. It is commonly contrasted with the related, but non-present-tense, forms such as teravustasid (you sharpened), teravustab (he/she sharpens), or teravustama (to sharpen/intensify in the infinitive). As with other Estonian verbs, the choice of case for direct objects follows standard rules, with the object typically in the accusative or partitive form depending on definiteness and aspect.

See also: teravustama, teravustav (present participle), Estonian verb conjugation.