Questions & Answers about Luettaisiinkohan ohjekirjaa ollenkaan?
How does the massive word luettaisiinkohan break down into its suffixes?
Let's follow the strict suffix order taught in this lesson: Stem + Passive + Mood + Person + Clitics. For this word, it goes: lue- (stem of lukea) + -tta- (passive voice marker) + -isi- (conditional mood marker 'would') + -in (passive personal ending) + -ko (question enclitic) + -han (softening 'I wonder' enclitic). Put it all together: lue + tta + isi + in + ko + han becomes luettaisiinkohan.
Why is the ending -kohan and not -hanko?
Enclitic particles have a strict structural hierarchy. The question clitic -ko/-kö must always come before softening or emphasizing clitics like -han/-hän, -pa/-pä, or -kin/-kaan. If you mixed them up into -hanko, it would sound immediately ungrammatical to a native speaker.
Why is ollenkaan used here? Isn't it only for negative sentences?
You are right that ollenkaan (at all) is most common in negative statements, like en lue ollenkaan (I don't read at all). However, it is also frequently used in questions that express heavy doubt or expect a negative answer. By asking if it would be read ollenkaan, the speaker strongly implies they suspect nobody will actually read the rulebook.
Why is ohjekirjaa in the partitive case here rather than the nominative?
Reading is often viewed as an ongoing or incomplete process. If the sentence were about reading the rulebook entirely from start to finish as a single completed action, the passive object would take the nominative form: Luettaisiinkohan ohjekirja?. Using the partitive ohjekirjaa focuses on the process itself, questioning whether the general activity of reading it would happen at all.
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