Tervehtiessään

Tervehtiessään is a Finnish non-finite verb form used as an adverbial participle. It is derived from the verb tervehtia (to greet) and expresses that the action of greeting occurs at the same time as the action described in the main clause, roughly equivalent to the English “while greeting” or “as he/she greeted.” The form signals simultaneity rather than sequence and is most often found in written or formal prose, but can appear in narrative texts as well.

Morphology and use: the form is the present active adverbial participle of tervehtiä and agrees with the subject of the accompanying clause. In standard usage the subject of the participle is typically the same as the subject of the main clause; forms exist to reflect different subjects (for example tervehtiessänne for “while you (plural) greet,” or tervehtiessämme for “while we greet”). The participle can stand at the beginning or within a sentence, separated by a comma when it precedes the main clause.

Function and nuance: tervehtiessään conveys circumstantial meaning, showing what was happening at the moment of the main action without creating a separate finite clause. It is commonly employed to add descriptive depth, avoid repetition, or sustain a literary tone. In everyday speech, speakers may replace it with conjunctions like kun or samalla kun, depending on style and emphasis.

Example: Tervehtiessään yleisöä hän hymyili. Translation: As he greeted the audience, he smiled. Another example: Tervehtiessään vieraita hän kuunteli heidän tarinoitaan. Translation: While greeting guests, he listened to their stories. See also: other Finnish adverbial participles and related non-finite verb forms.