Breakdown of Hän haluaa tietää, voittaako hän palkinnon.
hän
he / she
tietää
to know
haluta
to want
voittaa
to win
Questions & Answers about Hän haluaa tietää, voittaako hän palkinnon.
Why is there a -ko attached to voittaa?
In Finnish, the ending -ko or -kö is used to create yes/no questions. When used in the middle of a sentence like this, it forms an indirect question, translating to 'if' or 'whether' in English. So voittaako means 'if he wins'.
Could the -ko be attached to hän instead of the verb?
Yes, but it changes the focus of the question. The -ko ending always attaches to the exact detail you are wondering about. voittaako hän asks if he WINS. If you wrote hänkö voittaa, it would mean you are asking if HE is the one who wins (as opposed to someone else).
Why is there a comma before voittaako? We don't use a comma before 'if' in English.
Finnish grammar rules require a comma between two clauses if they each have their own conjugated verb. The first part of the sentence has haluaa and the second part has voittaako, so a comma must separate them, even in an indirect question.
Why is the word for prize palkinnon instead of its basic form palkinto?
The prize is the direct object of the verb voittaa. Because it is a complete action and he would win the whole prize, the object takes the accusative case. For singular nouns, this ending is -n, which looks exactly like the genitive case.