vähentämään

Vähentämään is the to-infinitive form of the Finnish verb vähentää, meaning to reduce or decrease. It is a non-finite form known as the second or to-infinitive, and it is used in subordinate clauses and in constructions that express purpose, intention, or potential action. In everyday language the primary dictionary form is vähentää, while vähentämään appears in contexts where the action is framed as a goal or ongoing aim.

Usage and examples. Vähentämään is commonly found after verbs or adjectives that introduce a goal or method, especially in formal or technical writing. Examples include: Ohjelmassa pyritään vähentämään jätteiden määrää. (The program aims to reduce the amount of waste.) Toimenpiteet on suunnattu vähentämään energiankulutusta. (The measures are aimed at reducing energy consumption.) In these cases, the to-infinitive expresses the intended outcome of the action described by the main verb.

Related forms. The verb family also includes the adverbial participle form vähentämällä, used to indicate manner or cause (“by reducing”). For instance: Vähentämällä energiankulutusta voidaan säästää kustannuksia. The basic dictionary form is vähentää, and the ordinary present infinitive is used in most simple clauses (Haluan vähentää kulutustani).

Notes. Vähentämään is less common in everyday speech than vähentää, but it appears in policy language, official documents, and written guidance where expressing purpose or strategy is important. It is related semantically to synonyms like pienentää and vähentymis- forms of the same verb family.

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