Tukemalla

Tukemalla is the Finnish gerund form of the verb tukea, meaning "to support" or "to back." It functions as an instrumental gerund used to indicate the means or method by which an action is performed. In Finnish grammar, tukemalla corresponds roughly to the English "by supporting" or "through backing" and is formed from the verb stem tuke- plus the -malla gerund suffix and the instrumental -lla ending.

Usage: Tukemalla is typically used to connect clauses that describe how something is achieved. It expresses means, justification, or method, and it is common in formal and written Finnish. The form can modify a main clause or introduce a subordinate clause, similar to how "by" works in English.

Examples:

- Hän ratkaisi ongelman tukemalla väitteensä todisteilla. (He solved the problem by backing his claim with evidence.)

- Tutkimusartikkeli esitti uuden tulkinnan tukemalla johtopäätökset kattavalla aineistolla. (The research article presented a new interpretation by supporting its conclusions with comprehensive data.)

Notes: Tukemalla is distinct from tukeminen ("the act of supporting") as well as from the noun tuki (support). It is one of several Finnish -malla/-nna forms used to express means or method. In contemporary Finnish it tends to appear in formal contexts or analytic writing.

See also: Finnish grammar, gerund (Finnish), tukea.