Breakdown of Voitko selittää, miten tämä teksti liittyy tehtävään?
tämä
this
sinä
you
voida
to be able
tehtävä
the task
Questions & Answers about Voitko selittää, miten tämä teksti liittyy tehtävään?
What exactly does voitko mean, and how is it formed?
Voitko means “can you” or “are you able to.”
It is formed from:
- voida = to be able (to), can
- voit = you can (2nd person singular, present)
- -ko = question ending added to a word
So:
- voit
- -ko → voitko = can you?
The -ko/-kö ending turns the clause into a yes/no question or makes it sound more questioning/polite. Without -ko, voit selittää would be a statement: you can explain.
Why is selittää in the basic dictionary form and not conjugated, like selität?
In Finnish, when you use a verb like voida (can, be able to), the second verb stays in the basic infinitive form (the same as the dictionary form).
- voit selittää = you can explain
- voit = you can (conjugated)
- selittää = to explain (infinitive)
If you said selität, that would be another finite verb and would make a separate sentence:
- Selität. = You explain. (a full statement on its own)
So voitko selittää literally is can you explain, and must stay in the infinitive here.