Indirect Yes/No Questions with -ko/-kö
In English, when you embed a yes/no question inside another sentence, you use the words "if" or "whether" (for example, "Do you know if the team is here?").
In Finnish, you do not use the conditional word for "if" (jos). Instead, you build a standard question using the -ko/-kö clitic and connect it to the main sentence with a comma.
Remember vowel harmony: use -ko for words with back vowels (a, o, u) and -kö for words with front (ä, ö, y) or only neutral vowels (e, i).
Word Order in the Embedded Clause
Just like in a direct question, the word carrying the -ko/-kö clitic is the focus of the question and must be moved to the very front of its clause. In an indirect question, this means the clitic word sits immediately after the comma.
This structure is used regardless of the verb's tense, and it works exactly the same whether the main sentence is a statement, a direct question, or a negative sentence.
