hankkiessaan

Hankkiessaan is a Finnish adverbial participle form of the verb hankkia, meaning “to obtain” or “to acquire.” The word conveys that the action of obtaining occurs in the same time frame as the action in the main clause, roughly translating to “in obtaining” or “while obtaining.”

Morphology and use: Hankkiessaan is formed as a present active participle with the third-person possessive suffix, reflecting the subject of the main clause. In practice, the participle clause usually shares the subject with the main clause, and the phrase functions to set the circumstance or time of the main action. The form is more common in written Finnish and in more formal or literary styles; in everyday speech, speakers may prefer explicit subordinate clauses or alternate constructions.

Function and style: The construction specifies simultaneity rather than sequence. It can express the circumstances under which something happened or was performed, often appearing in narrative or explanatory passages. To refer to a different subject in the participle clause, Finnish typically requires rephrasing rather than using hankkiessaan with a mismatched subject.

Example: Hallitus lisäsi veroja hankkiessaan rahaa julkiseen investointiin. Translation: The government increased taxes while raising money for a public investment.

See also: Finnish grammar; participles; hankkia.