Questions & Answers about Tämä on yllätys, ja kaikki pelkäävät vähän.
Why is the verb pelkäävät in the plural form when the English translation says 'everyone is'?
In Finnish, when kaikki refers to people (meaning 'everyone' or 'all'), it is treated as a plural word. That means it must take a plural verb ending. While English says 'everyone is' (singular), Finnish literally says 'all are' (kaikki pelkäävät).
Since the lesson is about indefinite pronouns, could I use kukaan instead of kaikki here?
No, you cannot. The pronoun kukaan means 'anyone' or 'no one' and is used almost exclusively in negative sentences or questions. Because this is a positive statement expressing that every person is afraid, you must use kaikki.
What is the basic form of pelkäävät, and why does a 'k' suddenly appear in the word?
The dictionary form is pelätä (to be afraid). It is a type 4 verb, which means its basic form is actually in the 'weak' consonant grade (without the 'k'). When you conjugate type 4 verbs, they flip to the 'strong' grade, so the 'k' appears in the stem (pelkää-) before you add the plural ending -vät.
I recognize the word yllätys (a surprise). Is it built from a verb?
Yes! Finnish often creates nouns from verbs by changing the ending to -s. The verb for 'to surprise' is yllättää, which smoothly turns into the noun yllätys (a surprise).