ilmentäen

Ilmentäen is the present active participle of the Finnish verb ilmentää, which means to reveal, express, or manifest. As an adverbial participle, ilmentäen denotes the manner or accompanying action of the main clause, roughly corresponding to “by manifesting” or “revealing” in English.

Use and style: The form is predominantly found in formal, literary, or historical Finnish. It is less common in everyday speech and can sound archaic or ceremonial. Ilmentäen is often used to introduce a participial clause that describes the subject’s action in relation to the main verb, for example: Ilmentäen totuuden, hän puhui suorasukaisesti (By revealing the truth, he spoke frankly).

Etymology and related forms: Ilmentäen is derived from ilmentää, which is related to ilme (appearance, expression) and ilmetä (to appear, to reveal). The -en suffix marks the adverbial or participial form used to modify the action of the main clause.

Notes: The usage of ilmentäen is characteristic of more formal registers and older prose. In contemporary Finnish, speakers typically rely on finite clauses or more common participles, but ilmentäen remains a valid literary device for signaling manner or causation in a compact form.

See also: ilmentää, ilmetä, ilme.