vaikuttivat

Vaikuttivat is the Finnish verb form meaning "they influenced" or "they affected." It is the third-person plural past tense (imperfekti) of vaikuttaa, a verb meaning to influence or affect. The form is used when describing actions or events in which multiple subjects have exerted influence in the past.

The usage covers a broad range of contexts—from politics and policy to culture, economy, and personal relationships. Examples include: "Kyselyn tulokset vaikuttivat äänestäjien mielipiteisiin" (The survey results influenced voters' opinions) and "Uutiset vaikuttivat yleisön tunteisiin" (The news affected the audience's emotions). In sentences, vaikuttivat is combined with a plural subject and takes a target in an appropriate case depending on what is influenced.

Etymology and related forms: vaikuttavat comes from vaikuttaa ("to influence") and is linked to the noun vaikutus ("influence" or "effect"). Related forms include vaikuttaminen ("influencing" or "influence activity") and the present tense form vaikuttavat ("they influence"). The word is common in written and spoken Finnish, including journalism, history, and scholarly analysis, whenever past influence is described.

In short, vaikuttivat functions as a standard past-tense expression of influence, applicable to many domains where multiple actors affected outcomes or states in the past.