Modifioidessaan

Modifioidessaan is a Finnish adverbial participle form of the verb modifioida (to modify). It expresses that the action of modifying is taking place simultaneously with another action described in the main clause. The form is used to create a subordinate clause that shares the same subject as the main clause, allowing the writer to link two actions without a coordinating conjunction. In Finnish, this type of non-finite clause is common in formal or literary prose to convey parallel actions concisely.

Morphology and usage are tied to Finnish participle systems. Modifioidessaan is a third-person singular present adverbial participle form, typically found in contexts where the subject of the main clause performs the action of modifying at the same time as the action in the main clause. The construction helps to indicate temporal simultaneity and can replace a longer sentence with a relative clause or a separate subordinate clause.

Examples illustrate its use. Modifioidessaan ohjelmaa, hän huomasi virheen. (“While modifying the program, he noticed a bug.”) Modifioidessaan asetuksia, hän tallensi muutokset. (“While modifying the settings, he saved the changes.”) In these cases, the subject of the subordinate participle is understood to be the same as the subject of the main clause.

Notes and alternatives: modifioidessaan contrasts with forms such as modifioivansa (to modify, in a less concurrent sense) or modifioineen (having modified), which express different temporal or aspectual relationships. The use of modifioidessaan is most frequent in written Finnish and may sound formal in everyday speech.