Questions & Answers about Oletko sinä nälkäinen? Kyllä!
How does oletko become a question instead of a statement?
The word olet means "you are". To ask a yes or no question in Finnish, you add the question ending -ko (or -kö) to the verb and put it at the very beginning of the sentence.
Is the word sinä completely necessary here?
No, it is optional. Because the verb olet already ends in a "t", it is clear that you are talking about "you". Finns often drop the words for "I" (minä) and "you" (sinä) in normal conversation, so you will frequently hear just Oletko nälkäinen?.
What is the difference between using nälkäinen and the phrase minulla on nälkä?
Nälkäinen is an adjective meaning "hungry", so you use it with the verb "to be" just like in English. However, it is actually more common in Finnish to use the noun nälkä (hunger) and say "I have hunger" (minulla on nälkä). To ask this as a question, you would say Onko sinulla nälkä?. Both ways are perfectly correct to learn!
Why does the question ending on oletko use an "o" instead of an "ö"?
This is because of Finnish vowel harmony. The root word olet has a back vowel "o" in it. Words with back vowels (a, o, u) always take endings with back vowels, so the question particle becomes -ko instead of -kö.
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