pidentämällä

Pidentämällä iskun suomen kielen adverbiaalisen partisiipin muoto, derived from the verb pidentää, meaning “to lengthen” or “to prolong.” It expresses the means or method by which an action is carried out and roughly corresponds to the English “by lengthening” or “by extending.” The form is used to connect a main clause with an accompanying action that is performed to achieve or enable the result.

Formation and usage: Pidentämällä is formed by taking the verb stem and adding the suffix -malla, following Finnish vowel harmony (pidentää → pidentämällä). It is an invariable form that does not change for tense or subject. In a sentence it functions as an adverbial participle, indicating how the action of the main clause is accomplished and often separated by a comma.

Examples:

- Sopimuksen voimassaoloaikaa pidentämällä saatiin lisäaikaa. (By extending the term of the contract, we gained extra time.)

- Aikataulua pidentämällä projektin lopullinen määräaika siirtyi. (By lengthening the schedule, the final deadline shifted.)

Notes: Pidentämällä is more common in formal, technical, or descriptive prose. In everyday speech, Finns may prefer finite verb clauses or other constructions to express means. The -malla form belongs to a set of adverbial participles that include forms like tekemällä, kirjoittamalla, and similar constructions.

See also: other adverbial participles in Finnish, such as tekemällä, kirjoittamalla, and the related gerund forms, which convey manner, method, or means in connecting clauses.