hoitaessa

Hoitaessa is a non-finite verb form in Finnish, derived from the verb hoitaa, meaning "to take care of" or "to manage." It functions as an adverbial participle, commonly described as a gerundial form, used to express that an action occurs simultaneously with another action. The form roughly corresponds to English "while taking care of" or "in taking care of."

Morphology and formation: hoitaessa is created by adding the suffix -essa to the verb stem hoita- (from hoitaa). This suffix marks an adverbial participle, signaling a concurrent circumstance for the action described in the main clause. Finnish has several such -essa/-ossa forms that denote simultaneous or background actions, and hoitaessa is one of the verbs’ non-finite forms used in subordinate clauses.

Usage: As an adverbial participle, hoitaessa introduces a clause that provides circumstantial information about the main action. It does not express tense on its own; the tense is supplied by the surrounding clause. Example: Lapsia hoitaessa isä kertoi tarinan. (While taking care of the children, the father told a story.) The form is typically used in written and formal Finnish, but can appear in spoken language as well, especially in descriptive or narrative contexts.

Relation to other forms: Hoitaessa belongs to a broader category of adverbial participles formed with -essa/-ossa that attach to the verb stem. Other verbs produce similar forms with their own stems, allowing speakers to describe concurrent actions efficiently without creating separate subordinate clauses with conjunctions.

See also: Finnish grammar, adverbial participles, gerunds, -essa/-ossa forms, verb hoitaa.