Puhaltamalla

Puhaltamalla is the Finnish gerund form of the verb puhalt(a)a, meaning to blow, exhale, or ventilate. This form denotes the act or the means by which something is done and is used to express method in a sentence, roughly translating to “by blowing” or “by exhaling” in English. As a gerund, puhaltamalla functions as a noun-like element and can introduce adverbial meaning.

Typical uses include describing actions performed with air or wind. It often appears in instructional or descriptive contexts to indicate how something is achieved. For example, Puhaltamalla kynttilän liekki sammuu means that blowing is the way the candle’s flame goes out. The form can also appear in more general phrases about moving air or drying something by blowing.

Word formation and related terms: the form is created from the verb stem puhalt- plus the -amalla suffix. A closely related noun is puhaltaminen, which means “the act of blowing.” Finnish grammar uses -malla/-mällä gerunds to convey means or manner, and puhaltamalla is a common, neutral way to describe actions performed with air or wind.