pyyhkimällä

Pyyhkimällä is a Finnish verbal adverbial participle (gerund) formed from the verb pyyhkiä, meaning to wipe or dab. The form is created by adding the suffix -mällä to the verb stem, yielding "pyyhkimällä," which translates roughly as "by wiping" or "by using wiping." In Finnish, pyyhkimällä is used to indicate the means or method by which an action is performed and typically introduces an adverbial clause without requiring a separate finite verb in that clause.

Usage and function: Pyyhkimällä appears in instructional texts, descriptive narration, and everyday speech to emphasize the method of cleaning, drying, or applying something with a wipe. It is often placed directly before information about what is being wiped or the result of the action, and it can connect with other parts of the sentence to describe manner or process.

Examples: Pölyä pyyhkimällä hän sai huoneen näyttämään siistiltä. (By wiping the dust, he made the room look neat.) Kostealla liinalla pyyhkimällä lattialta roiskeet saatiin pois. (By wiping with a damp cloth, the spills on the floor were removed.)

Notes: The gerund forms a non-finite clause and does not reflect person or number, relying on context for the subject. It is neutral in tone and common in manuals, guides, and observational prose.

Related forms: pyyhkiä (to wipe), pyyhkiminen (the act of wiping), other Finnish non-finite forms built with -malla/-mällä.