Kirjoittaessa

Kirjoittaessa is a Finnish non-finite verb form belonging to the family of adverbial participles. It expresses that another action takes place at the same time as the action in the main clause, and is commonly translated into English as “while writing” or “in writing.” The form is derived from the verb kirjoittaa (to write) and uses the present adverbial participle suffix -essa / -essä.

Formation and usage: The base form kirjoittaessa uses the verb stem kirjoitt- plus the present adverbial participle ending -essa/ -essä. The subject of the subordinate clause is typically the same as the subject of the main clause; to indicate a different subject you can use person-specific forms such as kirjoittaessaan (he/she is writing) or kirjoittaessani (as I was writing). This construction can appear at the beginning or after the main clause and is common in narrative, descriptive, and formal prose. It is a distinct non-finite form, different from finite clauses and from other participial forms.

Examples:

- Kirjoittaessaan tarinaa hän kuunteli rauhallista musiikkia. (As he was writing a story, he listened to calm music.)

- Kirjoittaessani esseetä huomasin, että olin toistanut itseäni. (As I was writing the essay, I noticed that I had repeated myself.)

Notes: Kirjoittaessa functions as a tool to provide background or circumstantial information without adding a new finite verb. It is one of several Finnish non-finite forms and is most common in written Finnish, including literary, academic, and formal prose, though it also appears in everyday language.