Estääkseen

estääkseen is a Finnish grammatical form. It is the third infinitive illative form of the verb estää, which means "to prevent," "to hinder," or "to obstruct." This particular form is used to express the purpose or intention of an action. When translated into English, it often corresponds to phrases like "in order to prevent," "to hinder," or "so as to stop."

The structure of the third infinitive illative in Finnish is formed by adding the suffix "-kseen" to the verb stem. For example, with the verb "mennä" (to go), the third infinitive illative is "mennäkseen" (in order to go). In the case of "estääkseen," the stem is "est-" and the suffix "-äkseen" is added, resulting in "estääkseen."

This grammatical construction is crucial for conveying complex ideas about cause and effect or the motivation behind an action. It signifies that the preceding action is being performed with the specific goal of preventing or hindering something else from happening. For instance, a sentence might read "Hän sulki oven estääkseen kylmän ilman pääsyn sisään," which translates to "He closed the door in order to prevent the cold air from entering." The use of "estääkseen" clearly links the act of closing the door to the purpose of blocking the cold air.