Pimetessä

Pimetessä is a Finnish non-finite verb form derived from the verb pimentyä, meaning to become dark or to darken. It functions as an adverbial or temporal clause that expresses a simultaneous action: the main event occurs “as it darkens” or “while it gets dark.” In English it is often rendered as “as it grows dark” or “in the process of darkening.” The form is commonly found in descriptive prose and narrative writing to set the time of day or atmosphere.

Grammatically, pimetessä is used to link clauses and to foreground the moment of changing light. It indicates a background or accompanying circumstance rather than a standalone action. It is distinct from the noun phrase pimeässä, which means “in the dark” as a state or location, and from other forms that describe the result of darkness rather than the process of it.

Usage and nuance: writers use pimetessä to convey mood, pace, and scene progression, often when describing natural light, twilight, or changing surroundings. It helps place events in a specific transitional moment—when daylight fades and the environment shifts.

Examples:

- Pimetessä taivas oli väriltään purppura, ja meri hohti hopeisena.

- Pimetessä kaupungin valot alkoivat hiljalleen syttyä, luoden kylmän, mutta rauhallisen tunnelman.

See also: pimeä, pimeys, pimentyä.