Breakdown of Vakoilisitko kohdetta, jos maksaisin sinulle?
sinä
you
jos
if
maksaa
to pay
kohde
target
vakoilla
to spy
Questions & Answers about Vakoilisitko kohdetta, jos maksaisin sinulle?
Why do both verbs (vakoilisitko and maksaisin) have the -isi- marker?
The -isi- marker indicates the conditional mood, used for hypothetical situations (usually translated as "would" in English). Notice that in Finnish, the jos (if) clause also uses the conditional (maksaisin - "I would pay"), whereas English uses the simple past tense ("if I paid").
How do you build vakoilisitko from the dictionary form of the verb?
The basic verb is vakoilla (to spy), which is a Type 3 verb. First, find the stem vakoile-. When you add the conditional -isi-, the -e- is dropped, making vakoilisi-. Finally, add the personal ending -t (you) and the question particle -ko.
Why is the word for "target" (kohde) in the partitive case (kohdetta)?
The verb vakoilla (to spy on) always takes a partitive object. This is because spying is an ongoing, continuous action rather than something with a definitive endpoint. Remember that for words ending in -e like kohde, the partitive ending is -tta / -ttä.
Why is "you" translated as sinulle rather than an object form like sinut or sinua?
The verb maksaa (to pay) uses the allative case (-lle) for the recipient of the money. You are structurally saying "if I would pay to you".
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