Silmäillyt

Silmäillyt is a Finnish verb form derived from the verb silmäillä, meaning to glance at, look over, or inspect with the eyes. In grammar, silmäillyt functions as the past active participle and is used in non-finite constructions, often in combination with auxiliary verbs to indicate completed viewing or inspection.

As a PA-participle, silmäillyt agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case, and it can appear in attributive or predicative positions. It commonly forms tenses with auxiliary verbs, such as on silmäillyt (has looked at) or oli silmäillyt (had looked at). It may also serve adjectivally to describe something that has been looked at or surveyed, for example in descriptive or narrative prose.

Semantics and nuance depend on context. The participle can convey a sense of thoroughness, as in having scanned or examined something, or a more casual, cursory glance, depending on surrounding words and the overall tone. Because it is a non-finite form, silmäillyt tends to appear in written language—particularly in descriptive passages, journalism, or literature—where the author wishes to emphasize the action of looking rather than the moment of gaze itself.

The word is closely related to the base verb silmäillä, and it should not be confused with other Finnish participles or with present-tense forms such as silmäilee. In usage, silmäillyt serves as a compact way to express the completed act of looking and is one tool among Finnish participial forms for conveying temporal nuance in prose.