kahjustades

Kahjustades is an Estonian verb form derived from kahjustama ("to damage") that functions as an adverbial participle or gerund. Formed by adding the suffix -des to the verb stem, it expresses an action occurring simultaneously with or as a manner or cause of the main action. Its nearest English equivalents are "by damaging," "while damaging," or "damaging."

In sentences, kahjustades typically introduces an adverbial clause that modifies the main verb. For example: "Ta jättis prügi maha, kahjustades loodust." (He left the rubbish, damaging the environment.) It can indicate cause ("säilitada reegleid kahjustades väiksemaid eeliseid ei kompenseeri pikka kahju"), condition, or concurrent activity.

Kahjustades is related to other forms of the same verb: kahju (damage, noun), kahjustama (infinitive), kahjustas (past), and kahjustatud (past participle, "damaged"). In legal, environmental, and technical contexts it appears in phrases describing harmful acts or consequences, such as "kahjustades teiste õigusi" (damaging the rights of others) or "kahjustades keskkonda" (damaging the environment).

Synonyms or paraphrases include expressions like kahju tehes or kahjustamist (the act of damaging). As a grammatical device, the -des form is productive in Estonian and used with many verbs to form concise adverbial clauses that convey simultaneity, cause, or manner.