Questions & Answers about Eikö tämä ole hyvä idea?
How is eikö formed, and what does it mean here?
Eikö is made of the negative verb ei (meaning he, she, or it does not) and the question ending -kö. In English, this translates to 'isn't' or 'doesn't'. When you want to ask a negative question like 'Isn't it...?' in Finnish, you attach the question ending directly to the negative verb.
Why does the question ending -kö attach to ei instead of ole?
In Finnish, the question ending -ko or -kö always attaches to the specific word you are asking about, and that word moves to the very front of the sentence. In a negative yes/no question, you are questioning the negative fact itself ('is it not?'), so the negative verb gets the ending and comes first.
Why is the verb to be written as ole instead of on?
Because this is a negative sentence. After any form of the negative verb (like en, et, or ei), the main verb must drop its personal ending and take its negative base form. The word on (is) changes to this base form, which is ole.
Why are tämä, hyvä, and idea in their basic dictionary forms?
Sentences with the verb to be describe what something is. In these basic sentences, both the subject (tämä) and what it is being called (hyvä idea) stay in the basic dictionary form, called the nominative. Turning the sentence into a negative question does not change this rule.
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