Välittäessä

Välittäessä is the adverbial participle form of the Finnish verb välittää. It expresses a concurrent action or manner in non-finite clauses and roughly translates to “while conveying/mediating” or “as one cares,” depending on the sense of välittää (to convey, to care about, to mediate).

Etymology and form: The form is derived from the verb stem välittä- plus the suffix -essä, yielding välittäessä. This participle belongs to the class of Finnish adverbial (also called participial) forms that describe action occurring at the same time as the main clause.

Usage: Välittäessä is primarily used in written Finnish and in more formal or literary contexts to link actions without introducing a separate subordinate clause with a finite verb. In everyday speech, speakers more often use conjunctions such as kun, kunhan, or underived finite clauses to express simultaneity. The exact interpretation of välittäessä depends on the sense of the verb välittää in the sentence—whether it concerns conveying information, caring about someone, or acting as an intermediary.

Semantics: Since välittää covers multiple meanings (relay or transmit information, care about, mediate), the adverbial participle inherits these nuances through context. Its primary function is to indicate that another action occurs at the same time as, or in relation to, the act described by the participle.

See also: välittäjä, välittää, Finnish grammar, adverbial participles.