käyttäessäni

Käyttäessäni is a Finnish word that functions as a temporal conjunction, indicating an action or state that occurs simultaneously with or during another action. It translates roughly to "when I was using" or "while I was using" in English. The word is derived from the verb "käyttää," which means "to use."

The structure of "käyttäessäni" involves the verb stem "käyttä-" followed by the "-essä-" suffix, which signifies the inessive case and a temporal function. The "-ni" ending indicates the first-person possessive suffix, meaning "my" or "by me." Therefore, "käyttäessäni" specifically refers to the action of using from the perspective of the speaker.

This form is commonly used in spoken and written Finnish to describe events that happened or were ongoing at the time the speaker was engaged in some form of usage. For example, "Käyttäessäni puhelinta huomasin viestin" translates to "While I was using my phone, I noticed a message." The word's grammatical structure is crucial for conveying the precise temporal relationship between the two clauses in a sentence. It emphasizes the context of an action happening during a period of using something.