Breakdown of Pihdeilläkö sinä taivutat kristallia?
sinä
you
pihdit
tongs
taivuttaa
to bend
kristalli
crystal
Questions & Answers about Pihdeilläkö sinä taivutat kristallia?
Why does pihdeillä have the -kö suffix and appear at the very start of the sentence?
This is contrastive focus fronting. By moving pihdeillä (with pliers) to the front and attaching the question clitic -kö, you are specifically questioning the tool being used: 'Is it with pliers that you are doing this?' as opposed to questioning the action itself.
How does the meaning change if I say Taivutatko sinä kristallia pihdeillä? instead?
The standard word order Taivutatko sinä kristallia pihdeillä? simply asks the general yes/no question 'Are you bending the crystal with pliers?'. The fronted version Pihdeilläkö... expresses surprise or emphasis on the tool, sounding more like 'Are you using PLIERS to bend the crystal?'.
Why is the word for 'pliers' in the plural form (pihdeillä) even if I am only using one tool?
Just like in English, the Finnish word for pliers (pihdit) is a 'plural only' word. To say 'with pliers', you must use the plural adessive case: the stem pihde- plus the plural marker -i- plus the adessive ending -llä.
Why is kristallia in the partitive case here instead of the accusative/genitive?
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