Käydessä

Käydessä is a Finnish adverbial participle form derived from the verb käydä, meaning to go, visit, or attend. It is used to indicate an action that occurs simultaneously with or as background to the action in the main clause, and is commonly translated into English as “while visiting” or “upon visiting.” The form is frequent in written Finnish, including narrative prose and travel writing, where it helps to connect events smoothly.

Morphology and usage details: Käydessä is formed from the verb stem käy- with the -essä suffix, producing an adverbial participle that does not specify a subject of its own. The subject is understood to be the same as the subject of the main clause. If a subject is stated, possessive inflection is used: käydessäni = while I was visiting; käydessäsi = while you were visiting. The form can also appear in longer participial phrases or clauses that set the context for the main action.

Related forms and contrasts: The noun käynti means “a visit” or “the act of going.” The past participle käynyt means “visited,” and the present or future activity related forms use other participle patterns such as käyvä (present active participle) or käynyt as a finite form in different tenses. Käessä and käydessäni are part of a broader system of non-finite verb forms used to link actions without repeating the subject.

Examples:

- Käydessä kaupungissa poikkesin kahvilaan. (While I was in the city, I stopped by a café.)

- Käydessäsi matkalla, muista pakata tavarasi. (While you are traveling, remember to pack your belongings.)