Breakdown of Mainitsevatko opiskelijat nämä kirjat?
kirja
book
nämä
these
opiskelija
student
mainita
to mention
Questions & Answers about Mainitsevatko opiskelijat nämä kirjat?
How do we form mainitsevatko from the dictionary form of the verb?
The dictionary form is mainita (to mention), which is a Type 5 verb (ending in -ita). To find the stem, you drop the final -a and add -se-, making mainitse-. Then you add -vat for "they" (because the subject is plural: the students) and finally the question ending -ko to mean "do they mention?".
Why is there no word for "do" in this question?
Finnish doesn't use a helper verb like "do" to make questions. Instead, you take the main verb, move it to the front of the sentence, and add the question particle -ko (or -kö). So, mainitsevat means "they mention", and mainitsevatko means "do they mention?".
Why are both nämä (these) and kirjat (books) in the plural?
In Finnish, a pointing word (like this, that, these, those) must match the noun it describes. Since the noun kirjat (books) is plural, the word for "these" also has to be the plural form nämä (instead of the singular tämä).
I learned that objects usually get an -n ending or are in the partitive case. Why does kirjat just end in the normal plural -t?
When an object is plural (more than one) and the action refers to a specific, complete set of items (like "these books"), it takes the basic plural form ending in -t. The -n ending you learned is only used for singular objects!
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