Questions & Answers about Onko kukka kaunis?
Why is it onko instead of onkö?
The question ending has two forms: -ko and -kö. Which one you use depends on vowel harmony. Because the verb on contains the back vowel o, we must use the back vowel ending -ko.
Why does the sentence start with onko?
To make a yes/no question in Finnish, you attach the -ko or -kö ending to the word you are asking about and move it to the very front. Since we are asking 'Is it...?', the verb on gets the ending and starts the sentence.
Could we attach the question ending to kukka instead?
Yes, but it changes the meaning! If you say Kukkako on kaunis?, you are specifically asking 'Is it the FLOWER that is beautiful?' (as opposed to a tree, for example). The word with the question ending always goes first and becomes the main focus of the question.
How does vowel harmony work for a word like kaunis if it has an i?
In Finnish, a, o, and u are back vowels, while ä, ö, and y are front vowels. The vowels e and i are neutral and can mix with either group. Because kaunis contains the back vowels a and u, it acts as a back vowel word and would take back vowel endings, completely ignoring the neutral i.
Where is the word for 'the' in this sentence?
Finnish does not have articles like 'a' or 'the'. The word kukka means both 'a flower' and 'the flower'. You can tell from the context of the question that we are talking about a specific flower.
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