salaamalla

Salaamalla is a Finnish adverbial participle (gerund) formed from the verb salailla, meaning to conceal or keep secret. The form expresses the manner or means by which an action is performed, and is commonly translated as “by concealing,” “through concealment,” or simply “secretly.” In Finnish grammar, -malla/-mällä is used to create this gerund, which functions as an adverbial modifier within a sentence.

Usage and function: Salaamalla is typically found in written or formal Finnish, where the author wishes to indicate how something happened rather than what happened. It often appears in analytic, investigative, legal, or journalistic contexts to describe covert or secretive actions. The gerund can introduce a clause that explains the method of an action, frequently in complex sentences with multiple subordinate ideas. It can contrast with more explicit verbs of action to emphasize concealment or secrecy as the approach taken.

Examples:

- Hanke eteni salaamalla the rahoituslähteet, jolloin ulkopuoliset eivät saaneet tietoa rahoituksesta.

- Tutkijat epäilevät, että tulot on kasvatettu salaamalla ne tilastoista.

- Hän toimi salaamalla tietoja kollegoiltaan.

Related considerations: Salaamalla belongs to a broader family of Finnish adverbial participles that describe means or manner. Depending on context, other expressions such as piilottamalla or salaten may convey similar notions of secrecy or deceit, but salaamalla specifically marks the concealment as the method used.