Kävellessäni

Kävellessäni is a Finnish word that translates to "while I was walking" or "as I walked." It is the past tense of the third-person singular present participle of the verb kävellä, which means "to walk." The word is formed by adding the suffix "-essäni" to the verb stem. This suffix indicates a simultaneous action occurring in the past, from the speaker's perspective.

The grammatical structure of kävellessäni is a common way to express ongoing actions in Finnish. It can be used in a variety of contexts to describe events that happened during the act of walking. For example, "Näin linnun kävellessäni" translates to "I saw a bird while I was walking." Similarly, "Sain idean kävellessäni" means "I got an idea as I walked."

This form allows for concise expression of a subordinate clause describing a background action. It is often employed to add detail or context to a main event, linking two actions that occurred concurrently. The personal ending "-ni" signifies that the walking was performed by the speaker. Other similar forms exist for different persons and tenses, such as "kävellessäsi" (while you were walking) or "kävellessään" (while he/she/they were walking). Understanding kävellessäni is key to comprehending how Finnish speakers describe past events involving simultaneous actions.