huuhtelemalla

Huuhtelemalla is a Finnish grammatical form known as an adverbial participle. It expresses means or method and translates roughly as “by rinsing” in English. The form is derived from a verb meaning “to rinse” and is used to indicate that rinsing is the action through which another result is achieved.

Usage in practice is common in manuals, recipes, and instructional text, where the speaker wants to describe how something is done without repeating the main verb. It can appear as a participial phrase attached to the main clause, or at the end of a sentence to specify the method. Esimerkki: Pese astiat huuhtelemalla ne lämpimällä vedellä.

Formation and grammar: The suffix -malla (or -mällä) attaches to the verb stem to form the adverbial participle. This construction is part of a broader family of Finnish -malla/-mällä participles used to express means, manner, or instrumental action. In ordinary speech, the form is treated as a normal part of sentence structure, though it tends to be more visible in written instructions and descriptive prose. Phonological adjustments can occur with some verb stems, but huuhtelemalla remains recognizable as the standard instrumental participle form of a rinse-related verb.

See also: Finnish grammar, adverbial participles, -malla/-mällä constructions.