muuttuen

Muuttuen is the adverbial participle form of the Finnish verb muuttua, meaning “to become” or “to change.” It is formed with the suffix -en and expresses a concomitant action or state, roughly translating to “as becoming” or “by becoming.” In practice, muuttuen introduces a non-finite clause that describes how the situation changes or a condition under which the main action takes place.

In usage, muuttuen functions similarly to the English “as … becoming” or “by becoming.” It is typically used to indicate that a change is occurring simultaneously with the action in the main clause. The form tends to appear more often in written Finnish, especially in formal, literary, or journalistic text, and is less common in casual speech where alternative constructions are preferred.

Examples:

- Hän meni ulos, muuttuen hiljaisemmaksi. (He went out, becoming quieter.)

- Kaupunki kasvoi, muuttuen monikulttuurisemmaksi. (The city grew, becoming more multicultural.)

- Ilma muuttuen kylmäksi, ihmiset hakeutuivat sisälle. (The air grew cold, and people sought shelter inside.)

Relation to other forms:

- The present active participle muuttuva expresses ongoing changing about the subject itself (the city is changing).

- The noun muodotoksi or the noun muutos refer to the change as a process, while muuttuen specifically marks the simultaneous change in the main clause.

Muuttuen thus provides a concise, stylistically marked way to link two related actions or states in Finnish, conveying change as it unfolds.