valmistaessaan

Valmistaessaan is a Finnish word that functions as a temporal adverbial clause. It is the elative plural form of the present active participle of the verb "valmistaa," which means "to prepare," "to make," or "to manufacture." Therefore, "valmistaessaan" literally translates to "while they are preparing" or "while they are making."

In Finnish grammar, this form is used to indicate an action that is happening concurrently with another action, specifically when the subject of both actions is the same. It often appears in sentences where a subordinate clause describes an activity occurring simultaneously with the main clause's action. For example, "Hän lauloi valmistaessaan ruokaa" translates to "He sang while he was preparing food." The subject "he" is performing both the singing and the food preparation.

The elative case ("-sta/-stä") in this context signifies "from within" or "out of," suggesting the action of preparing is the context or source from which the other action (like singing) originates or occurs. While less common in English, the Finnish construction emphasizes the ongoing nature of the preparation during the other activity. It is a concise way to express simultaneity and shared subject matter within a single phrase.