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92 Sari Eskola
In Russian and English such verbs are typically used in referative expressionswithfiniteverbforms(4),soitseemstobethecasethatthereisnostimulus
for this type of referative construction in either of the source languages. It
is by far the most common type of referative construction in original Finnish
texts and quite rare in translations.
(4) Hän kertoi minulle tulevansa. non-finite
Ona skazala mne, čto pridet. finite
She told me that she was coming. finite
3.2.2 The temporal construction
The temporal construction is used to indicate the time of the action in relation
to the main clause. In many cases the corresponding structures in Russian
and English offer a choice between non-finite and finite structures both in
the present and the past tense (5–6). There are, however, certain restrictions:
in Russian and English such structures (gerunds and ing-participles) are not
used when the subject of the non-finite expression is not the same as the
subject of the main clause. In English there is, however, an expression called
the ‘absolute participle structure’ by Zandvoort (1975:35–36), which means a
participle construction having a different subject than the main clause (e.g. The
authorities having arrived -.-, the ceremony began).
(5) F a. Lukiessaan kirjaa. . . non-finite
b. Kun hän lukee kirjaa... finite
Ra. Čitaja knigu. . . non-finite
b. Kogda ona čitaet knigu... finite
Ea. Reading a book. . . non-finite
b. As she is reading a book... finite
(6) F a. Luettuaan kirjan. . . non-finite
b. Kun hän on lukenut kirjan... finite
Ra. Pročitav knigu. . . non-finite
b. Posle togo kak ona pročitala knigu finite
Ea. Having read the book. . . non-finite
b. When she has read the book... finite
The frequencies of the temporal construction show that it is used more in
both translated components (Figure 4). Differences between translations from
English and Russian are negligible.