The Finnish E-infinitive

The E-infinitive, or the grammatical structure formerly known as a second infinitive, exists in two different cases: instructive and inessive. If you like infinitives, you could also check out my posts about the MA-infinitive and the A-infinitive.

The instructive:

This one is used when expressing a manner or a style. Take the basic for of the verb and switch the a or ä into e, and add the instructive n.

• nauraa > nauraen: "Joo!", hän sanoi nauraen. - "Yes!", he said laughing. 
• syödä > syöden: Vietin koko illan suklaata syöden. - I spent the whole evening eating chocolate. 
• kävellä > kävellen: Menittekö te sinne kävellen? - Did you go there by foot?
• siivota > siivoten:  Katsoin uutisia keittiötä siivoten. - I was watching the news while tidying up the kitchen. 

If there is an e before the infinitive a or ä, the E-infinitive has ie.

• itkeä > itkien: Tyttö juoksi itkien kotiin. - The girl ran home crying. 
• lähteä > lähtien: Mistä lähtien? - Since when?

Useful phrases:

• totta puhuen - speaking the truth
• suoraan sanoen - saying directly
• vuorotellen - taking turns
• huomisesta lähtien - starting from tomorrow
• näin ollen - (things) being like this, therefore
• vähitellen - little by little 

Lue lisää: The instructive case 

The inessive:

This one is used when emphasizing that two things happen at the same time. Remember the possessive suffix, if it is a same person who performs both activities.

nauraessani = kun minä nauran
nauraessasi = kun sinä naurat
nauraessaan = kun hän nauraa
nauraessamme = kun me nauramme
nauraessanne = kun te nauratte
nauraessaan = kun he nauravat

• lähettää > lähettäessä: Mikko kaatui lähettäessään tekstiviestiä. - Mikko fell down as he was writing a text message. 
• nousta > noustessa: Noustessaan ylös hän huomasi, että kaikki nauroivat. - As he was getting up he noticed that everyone was laughing. 

If there are two different subjects, put the other person in genitive and forget the possessive suffix. You can also switch the word order.

• Säikähdin Mikon kaatuessa. - I was startled when Mikko fell down.
• Nauroin Mikon noustessa ylös. - I laughed as Mikko got up.
• Mikon noustessa ylös minä nauroin. - As Mikko was getting up, I laughed.

You are more likely to see these E-infinitives in texts than hear people using them in a spontaneous speech. Instead, we'd use a subclause starting with kun:

• Mä säikähdin, kun Mikko kaatui.  - I was startled when Mikko fell down.
• Mä nauroin, kun Mikko nousi ylös. - I  laughed when Mikko got up.

Finally, this is kind of hardcore, but the inessive structure also exists in passive voice:

• Naurettaessa keho ja mieli rentoutuvat. = When people laugh, the body and mind relax.
• Autoa ostettaessa on oltava kärsivällinen. = One must  be patient when buying a car. 
• Tarvittaessa voin työskennellä myös öisin. - When / if needed, I can also work at night. 

The E-infinitives are confusingly close to some of the MA-infinitive forms. Here are sentences that show the difference between keskustellen, keskustellessa, keskustelemalla and keskustelemassa. Keskustella is to have a conversation or to talk, but usually the tone is rather serious or formal.

• Vietimme koko junamatkan keskustellen kokouksesta. - We spent the whole train ride talking about the meeting. 
• Ratkaisimme ongelman keskustelemalla. - We solved the problem by talking.
• Olin neuvotteluhuoneessa keskustelemassa esimieheni kanssa. - I was in a conference room having a conversation with my boss. 
• Meidän keskustellessamme muut olivat pitsalla. - While we were having a conversation, the others were having a pizza.

About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here.