Peittämään

Peittämään is a Finnish verbal form of the verb peittää, meaning to cover or to conceal. It is the ma-infinitive (the -maan/-mään infinitive) and is used as a non-finite verb form in various constructions. In practice it functions as the to-infinitive of peittää when the action is being referred to in relation to another verb or clause.

Morphology and form. The ma-infinitive is created from the verb stem by adding the suffix -maan or -mään, depending on phonological rules. For peittää, the form becomes peittämään. The spelling reflects the stem modification that occurs with this verb, including the double t.

Usage. The ma-infinitive is commonly found after verbs of motion or verbs expressing intention or plan, often to indicate what someone is going to do. Typical examples include:

- Menen peittämään reiän. (I am going to cover the hole.)

- Hän tuli peittämään pöydän. (He came to cover the table.)

The ma-infinitive is one of several non-finite forms in Finnish and is distinct from the basic infinitive peittää and from the noun form peittäminen (the act of covering).

Relation to other forms. The dictionary form of the verb is peittää. The gerund or verbal noun is peittäminen (the act of covering). The present participle is peittävä. The ma-infinitive, peittämään, has a specific syntactic role and is not interchangeable with the basic infinitive in all contexts.

Etymology and notes. Peittämään derives from the root peittä- of peittää with the standard -maan/-mään inflection. It illustrates how Finnish uses multiple non-finite forms to express nuance in meaning and function.

See also. peittää, peittäminen, ma-infinitiivi.