poistuttua

Poistuttua is a Finnish non-finite verb form derived from the verb poistua, meaning to leave or depart. In grammar, poistuttua is used as an adverbial participle to indicate that the action of leaving has been completed before another action in the main clause. In practice, it corresponds to a translation such as “after having left” or “having departed.”

Usage and function

Poistuttua appears in subordinate clauses to establish sequence or temporal relation between actions. It is more common in written Finnish, especially formal, descriptive, or legal-style text, than in everyday spoken language. The form helps condense information by combining two actions into one sentence without a second finite verb. The accompanying clause often reflects the same subject as in the main clause, though Finnish allows some flexibility with subject reference in non-finite clauses.

Formation and related forms

The form is built from the stem of poistua with the adverbial participle suffix, leading to forms such as poistuttua and related variants like poistuttuaan, which marks the action as having occurred prior to another event. The exact inflection depends on the syntactic role and surrounding punctuation, but the core idea remains “having left.” Related non-finite forms include the present participle poistuva (leaving) and other participial constructions built from poistua.

Examples

- Poistuttuaan kaupungista, hän soitti. (Having left the city, he called.)

- Poistuttuaan paikalta, tilanne rauhoittui. (After having departed from the scene, the situation calmed.)

See also

Poistua, the verb meaning to leave; Finnish adverbial and perfect participles; Nordic and Finnic participle constructions.