Erottamalla

Erottamalla is a Finnish word that functions as the adverbial participle of the verb erottaa, meaning to separate or distinguish. As an adverbial participle, erottamalla expresses the manner or means by which an action is carried out, roughly equivalent to “by separating” or “through separation” in English. The form is commonly used in procedural, instructional, and scientific texts to describe a method or approach.

Etymology and grammar notes: erottamalla is formed from the verb erottaa with the suffix -malla, which creates an adverbial or instrumental participle. It does not stand alone as a finite verb but rather modifies a main clause to indicate how the action is performed. The base noun related to this verb is erottaminen, meaning “the act of separating” or “separation.”

Usage and registers: The term is frequent in technical writing, laboratory protocols, and explanations of processes that involve separating components, mixtures, or categories. It can also appear in descriptive writing to indicate method, but it is less common in everyday speech, where simpler phrases may be preferred.

Related forms: erottaa (to separate, distinguish), erottaminen (the act of separating, separation), erottuva (distinguishing, separable in a descriptive sense). The verb erottaminen refers to the noun form of the action, while erottamalla provides a means-oriented construction.

Example sentences:

- Prosessi etenee erottamalla seoksen komponentit. (The process proceeds by separating the components of the mixture.)

- Tutkimuksessa aineet erotetaan erottamalla niiden ominaisuudet. (In the study, the substances are separated by distinguishing their properties.)

See also: erotta, erottaminen, erottuva.