Ylläpitämällä

Ylläpitämällä is a Finnish adverbial participle form of the verb ylläpitää, meaning to maintain or preserve. The form corresponds to the English by maintaining or through maintaining and is used to express the manner, means, or condition under which an action occurs. It can introduce a non-finite clause that explains how something is done or what condition is in effect.

Formation and use: Ylläpitämällä is created by adding the suffix -malla to the verb stem ylläpit- (from ylläpitää). This participle is commonly used to describe a method or instrumentality, similar to other Finnish adverbial participles formed with -malla/-mällä. It is often placed at the beginning of the clause and followed by a main clause, with the implied agent of both clauses usually being the same.

Examples:

- Ylläpitämällä säännöllistä huoltoa laitteet toimivat luotettavasti. (By maintaining regular servicing, the devices operate reliably.)

- Ylläpitämällä kuntoa urheilija pysyi kilpailukykyisenä. (By maintaining fitness, the athlete remained competitive.)

- Ylläpitämällä turvallisuuskäytäntöjä arbettiin varmemmin. (By maintaining safety practices, work proceeded more securely.)

Notes: The term is primarily encountered in formal or technical Finnish, including documentation, reports, and instructional texts. It is closely related to the noun forms ylläpito (maintenance) and ylläpitäminen (the act of maintaining). In translation, ylläpitämällä is typically rendered as “by maintaining” or “through maintaining,” depending on context.