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Finnish

In English, we form yes/no questions using words like "do" or "are" (e.g., "Do you live here?"). In Finnish, you simply attach a question suffix directly to the conjugated verb.

Because of a core Finnish rule called **vowel harmony**, this suffix has two versions: **-ko** and **-kö**.

### Vowel Harmony

Finnish vowels are divided into three groups. Words cannot mix back vowels and front vowels. When you add a suffix to a word, the suffix must harmonize with the vowels inside that word's current form:

- **Back vowels (a, o, u):** If the verb form has any back vowels, use the back-vowel suffix **-ko**.
- **Front vowels (ä, ö, y):** If the verb form has any front vowels, use the front-vowel suffix **-kö**.
- **Neutral vowels (e, i):** These can mix with either back or front vowels. However, if a word contains *only* neutral vowels, it defaults to the front-vowel suffix **-kö**.

### Using -ko (Back Vowels)

If the verb contains an **a**, **o**, or **u**, attach **-ko**.

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### Using -kö (Front and Neutral Vowels)

If the verb contains an **ä**, **ö**, or **y**, attach **-kö**. You also use **-kö** if the verb only contains the neutral vowels **e** and **i**.

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### Questions with "Olla" (To Be)

The verb *olla* (to be) follows the exact same pattern. For example, the conjugated forms *olet* (you are) and *on* (he/she/it is) contain the back vowel **o**, so they take the **-ko** ending.

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Remember the word **vai** (or) from the previous lesson? It is perfect for yes/no questions where you offer two alternatives:

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Yes/no questions (-ko / -kö)

adjective

adposition

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (tämä, tuo, se)

Singular personal pronouns (minä, sinä, hän)

Plural personal pronouns (me, te, he)

Plural demonstratives (nämä, nuo, ne)

Coordinating conjunctions (ja, mutta, tai)

Basic question words (kuka, mikä, missä)

Negation of to be (en ole, ei ole)

The inessive case (-ssa / -ssä)

Double consonant gradation (kk, pp, tt)

Consonant gradation (-ssa/-ssä)

Verb Type 1 (puhun, puhut, puhuu)

Verb Type 1 with consonant gradation

Negative verbs (en puhu, et lue)

External location (-lla/-llä)

There is / there are (kaupungissa on)

Possession (minulla on)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yksi, kaksi, kolme)

The partitive singular (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Quantities with numbers (kaksi autoa)

Negative possession (ei ole)

Numbers 11 to 100 and 1000

Partitive verbs

Partitive personal pronouns (minua, sinua)

Verb Type 2 (-da/-dä)

Partitive for mass nouns (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Partitive for negative objects

Adjective agreement

Verb Type 3

The elative case (-sta/-stä)

Negative possession (minulla ei ole…)

The illative case (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Numbers 21 to 99

Static vs. movement verbs

Verb Type 4 (-Vta / -Vtä)

Verb Type 5 (-ita / -itä)

Genitive singular for possession (-n)

Total object (-n)

Accusative personal pronouns (-t)

Obligation (täytyy)

Into places (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Postpositions with the genitive

My and your (-ni, -si)

Onto and to someone (-lle)

From someone or somewhere (-lta, -ltä)

Telling time (kello on...)

Months of the year (-ssa, -ssä)

Days of the week (-na, -nä)

When and why (milloin, miksi)

The illative case (mihin, -Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Past tense of to be (olin, olit, oli)

The seasons (kevät, kesä, syksy, talvi)

The imperative mood (lue!, syö!, mene!)

The past tense of to be (olin, oli)

The illative case (-hVn, -seen)

Greetings and goodbyes (hei, näkemiin)

Thank you and sorry (kiitos, anteeksi)

Liking things (pitää / tykätä + -sta/-stä)

Temporary states and roles (-na/-nä)

Change of state (-ksi)

Ongoing actions (-massa/-mässä)

Going to do an action (-maan/-mään)

Returning from an action (-masta/-mästä)

Third-person possessives (-nsa/-nsä or -Vn)

Plural possessives (-mme, -nne)

Indefinite pronouns (joku, jokin, kaikki)

Negative indefinite pronouns (ei kukaan, ei mikään)

Commands for verb types 4 and 5

Adverb formation (-sti)

Past tense for verb type 1 (-i-)

Past tense vowel changes for verb type 1 (-o- / -i-)

Past tense for verb type 2 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 3 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 4 (-si-)

Past tense for verb type 5 (-itsi-)

Past tense consonant gradation

Past participles for verb types 1 and 2 (-nut / -nyt)

Past participle singular for verb types 3-5 (-nnut, -llut)

Active past participle plural (-neet)

Past tense negative (en mennyt, emme olleet)

The perfect tense (olen ollut)

The perfect tense negative (en ole nähnyt)

Total plural objects (-t)

Partitive plural (-ia / -iä)

Partitive plural (-ja / -jä)

Partitive plural (-ita / -itä)

Question	Answer
to live	asua
Do you live here?	Asutko sinä täällä?
Do they live at home?	Asuvatko he kotona?
to sit	istua
Are you sitting inside?	Istutteko te sisällä?
Is the man sitting there?	Istuuko mies tuolla?
to walk	kävellä
Are you walking?	Käveletkö?
Are we walking outside?	Kävelemmekö me ulkona?
to cry	itkeä
Is the boy crying?	Itkeekö poika?
Are you crying because you are tired?	Itketkö sinä, koska olet väsynyt?
to ask	kysyä
Is he asking?	Kysyykö hän?
Are they also asking?	Kysyvätkö he myös?
to smile	hymyillä
Are you smiling now?	Hymyiletkö nyt?
Is the woman smiling?	Hymyileekö nainen?
angry	vihainen
Is the dog angry?	Onko koira vihainen?
Are you angry?	Oletko vihainen?
beautiful	kaunis
Is the flower beautiful?	Onko kukka kaunis?
Is that girl beautiful?	Onko tuo tyttö kaunis?
good	hyvä
Is this new book good?	Onko tämä uusi kirja hyvä?
Is the big house expensive?	Onko iso talo kallis?
bad	huono
Is it good, or bad?	Onko se hyvä vai huono?
Is that car bad?	Onko tuo auto huono?