Negative Yes/No Questions
Ask negative questions to seek confirmation, express surprise, or invite someone to agree with you, much like "Isn't it?", "Don't you?", or "Aren't we?" in English.
To form a negative yes/no question, attach the question clitic -kö directly to the negative verb. (Because the negative verb only contains front or neutral vowels, it always takes -kö, never -ko.)
| Pronoun | Negative Verb | Negative Question | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| minä | en | enkö | don't I? / aren't I? |
| sinä | et | etkö | don't you? / aren't you? |
| hän / se | ei | eikö | doesn't he/she/it? / isn't he/she/it? |
| me | emme | emmekö | don't we? / aren't we? |
| te | ette | ettekö | don't you? / aren't you? |
| he / ne | eivät | eivätkö | don't they? / aren't they? |
Start with the negative verb, followed by the subject, and then the main verb.
| Isn't the new teacher nice? | Eikö uusi opettaja ole mukava? |
| Isn't this city great? | Eikö tämä kaupunki ole hieno? |
| Wasn't I stupid yesterday? | Enkö minä ollut typerä eilen? |
| Don't we sing well? | Emmekö me laula hyvin? |
| Aren't these parties great? | Eivätkö nämä juhlat ole hienot? |
Sharing Reactions and Surprise
Negative questions are perfect for sharing strong reactions to things around you.
| Isn't this weather unbelievable? | Eikö tämä sää ole uskomaton? |
| Don't you think that the rule is ridiculous? | Ettekö te ajattele, että sääntö on naurettava? |
To emphasize your surprise or disbelief, add tosiaan (really / indeed).
| Don't you really know? | Etkö sinä tosiaan tiedä? |
When reacting to food with the verb maistua (to taste), remember that the adjective typically takes the ablative case (-lta/-ltä).
| Doesn't the soup taste good? | Eikö keitto maistu hyvältä? |
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