Mittamalla

Mittamalla is a Finnish grammatical form, specifically the present active adverbial participle of the verb mitata, meaning “to measure.” It denotes the means or method by which an action is performed, roughly equivalent to “by measuring” in English. The form is created by attaching the suffix -malla to the verb stem, giving mitta- + -malla.

In use, mittamalla introduces adverbial information about how something is done. It is common in descriptive, scientific, and technical writing to explain methodology or procedures. It functions as a participial phrase that can appear at the beginning of a clause or within a sentence to modify the main verb, without forming a separate finite verb.

Examples illustrate its typical function: Tutkimus tehtiin mittaamalla kaikkien osallistujien verenpaineet. Näytteitä seurattiin mittaamalla pitoisuuksia ajan kuluessa. These constructions emphasize the instrumental method rather than the action as such.

Notes on its behavior: mittamalla is invariable for person and number, since it is a participial form, not a conjugated verb. It is often complemented by nouns or noun phrases to specify what is being measured, and it can be combined with other participial phrases to describe multiple methodological steps. While primarily a grammatical device, mittamalla is also used more loosely to convey a quantitative or measurement-based approach in explanations and arguments.