edistääkseen

Edistääkseen is a Finnish non-finite verb form derived from the verb edistää, meaning “to promote” or “to advance.” It functions as the infinitive of purpose, used to express the aim or motive of an action and roughly corresponds to the English “in order to promote” or “to promote.” The form is typically found in purpose clauses and often accompanies a main clause that states the action being taken for a specific goal.

Formation and use: edistääkseen is built from the stem edistä- plus the suffix -akseen, which marks the infinitive of purpose. It is used when the speaker wants to indicate what the subject is trying to achieve by the action described in the main clause. In many cases the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the main clause, although Finnish grammar allows some flexibility in more complex sentences. The construction is common in formal, administrative, or academic prose.

Examples:

- Hän osallistui kokoukseen edistääkseen yhteisiä tavoitteita. (He attended the meeting to promote common goals.)

- Tutkija julkaisi raportin edistääkseen tärkeän keskustelun. (The researcher published the report to advance an important discussion.)

- Tavoitteena on edistääkseen oikeudenmukaisuutta. (The aim is to promote justice.)

Relation to other forms: edistääkseen is one of several purposive infinitives in Finnish. Other verbs form similar purposive infinitives with -akseen/-äkseen, depending on phonological harmony, and they appear in similar purpose-expressing constructions.