Kuuluessaan

Kuuluessaan is a Finnish adverbial participle form derived from the verb kuulua, meaning to belong or to be a member of. The form expresses a circumstance related to membership, typically translating roughly to “while being a member” or “as a member” in English. It is used to connect a subordinate non-finite clause to the main clause, indicating the subject’s affiliation at the time of the action described in the main clause.

Grammatically, kuuluiessaan is an adverbial (non-finite) participle that assumes the same subject as the main clause. It belongs to a family of participial forms that provide temporal or circumstantial information without introducing a new finite verb. The construction is most commonly found with a third-person singular subject and is characteristic of more formal or bureaucratic Finnish.

Usage and style notes indicate that kuuluessaan is primarily encountered in written, formal, or legal and administrative prose. In everyday speech, speakers more often rephrase the idea with finite clauses or other participial forms, for example by using olla-related constructions (ollessaan) or by modifying the sentence with explicit conjunctions or relative clauses. As a result, kuuluessaan may feel slightly literary or institutional to modern conversational Finnish.

Related terms include kuulua (to belong), kuuluminen or kuulumiset (belonging or membership), and other participial forms such as kuuluvassa or kuuluvana that express related relationships or attributes. Understanding kuuluessaan helps illuminate how Finnish uses non-finite clauses to convey membership status and temporality in a compact, formal style.