Lisääen

lisääen is the adverbial participle (converb) form of the Finnish verb lisätä, meaning “to add.” In Finnish, lisääen is used to express an accompanying or instrumental action and is commonly translated into English as “by adding.” The construction links two actions, with lisääen indicating how the main action is performed or what accompanies it. It is predominantly found in written and formal Finnish and is less frequent in everyday speech, where simpler syntactic alternatives are often preferred.

Formation and syntax: lisääen is created from the verb stem of lisätä plus the -en suffix, yielding a non-finite, invariable form. The phrase typically precedes or follows the main clause, and the implied subject of lisääen is normally the same as the subject of the main verb. Punctuation, such as a comma, can separate the converbial clause from the main clause when it adds information or clarifies the manner of the action.

Usage notes: lisääen provides a concise way to describe how an action is carried out or what accompanies it, conveying a sense of process or method rather than sequence. Because it is a non-finite form, lisääen does not conjugate for person or number and relies on the surrounding sentence for subject and reference.

Examples: Hän lisääen sokeria kahviinsa teki siitä makeamman. By adding sugar to his coffee, he made it sweeter. Lisääen vielä mausteita keittoon, keitto sai täyteläisemmän maun. By adding more spices to the soup, the soup gained a fuller flavor.

See also: Finnish grammar, converb, lisätä.