Learn Hardcore Finnish: Voisitko kiinnittää valaisimen seinään?

Voisitko is the second-person singular conditional form of voida (“to be able to”) plus the question particle -ko, so it literally means “could you…?”. In Finnish the conditional + -ko is a standard way to soften requests and make them more polite. A direct imperative would be Kiinnitä valaisin seinään (“Attach the lamp to the wall”), which sounds more like a command.

What is the purpose of the -ko suffix in Voisitko?

The suffix -ko/-kö is an interrogative clitic that turns a statement into a yes–no question. Which form you choose depends on vowel harmony: if the word has any front vowels (ä, ö, y), use -kö; otherwise (with back vowels a, o, u or only neutral e, i) use -ko. Here voi- has a back vowel o, so we get voisitko.

Why is the direct object valaisimen marked with -n rather than left in the nominative?

In Finnish, when a verb expresses a complete (telic) action on an object, that object takes the accusative. For singular concrete nouns the accusative form usually matches the genitive with -n. So valaisin (“lamp”) becomes valaisimen to show you’re attaching the whole lamp. If you meant only part of it or an indefinite amount, you’d use the partitive valaisinta.

What case is seinään, and why is it used here?

Seinään is the illative singular of seinä (“wall”). The illative indicates movement “into” or “inwards.” Since you screw or nail the lamp so that parts go into the wall, Finnish treats it as motion into something, hence the illative seinään rather than a static case like adessive (seinällä, “on the wall”).

Could I use seinälle (“onto the wall”) instead of seinään for attaching the lamp?

Generally not for heavier fixtures. Seinälle (allative) means “onto the surface,” which suits light objects you stick or place (e.g. posters). But a lamp typically requires screws that penetrate the wall, so Finns use the illative seinään. Saying kiinnittää valaisin seinälle would sound odd for a lamp.

Why does the verb kiinnittää have a double “t”?

The verb is built from the stem kiinni- (“fastened”) plus the infinitive suffix -ttää. Many Finnish Type I verbs double the “t” in their stem when this suffix is added, so you get kiinnittää (“to fasten/attach”).

How would you express the same request more directly or less politely?

– Present-tense question: Kiinnitätkö valaisimen seinään? (“Are you attaching the lamp to the wall?” → “Will you attach…?”)
– Imperative command: Kiinnitä valaisin seinään. (“Attach the lamp to the wall.”)
– Plural or polite plural: Kiinnittäkää valaisin seinään.

Finnish has no articles like “the.” How do you know which lamp and which wall?

Finnish omits definite/indefinite articles; context provides specificity. If you need to be extra clear you can add demonstratives: Voisitko kiinnittää tämän valaisimen tähän seinään? (“Could you attach this lamp to this wall?”).