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Voisitteko kirjautua sisään nähdäksenne, onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt?

Voisitteko kirjautua sisään nähdäksenne, onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt?
Could you log in to see whether the reservation queue has already shortened?
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Questions & Answers about Voisitteko kirjautua sisään nähdäksenne, onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt?

Why does Voisitteko end with -ko?

-ko/-kö is the yes/no question clitic. It turns a statement into a question and attaches to the word that’s being questioned/emphasized.

  • Voisitteko…? = Could you…?
  • Without it: Voisitte = You could (not a question)

Because voisitte has back vowels (o, i), the clitic is -ko (not -kö).

Why is voisitteko in the conditional (voisi-) instead of the present (voitteko)?

Finnish often uses the conditional to make requests more polite/less direct.

  • Voitteko kirjautua sisään? = Can you log in? (more direct)
  • Voisitteko kirjautua sisään? = Could you log in? (more polite)

It’s the same kind of politeness difference as English can you vs could you.

Who is being addressed—why -tte (plural) in voisitteko?

Voisitteko is 2nd person plural. It can mean: 1) You (plural): speaking to more than one person
2) Polite “you” to one person (common in customer service, formal contexts)

If speaking informally to one person, you’d often see:

  • Voisitko kirjautua sisään…? (singular)
What grammatical form is kirjautua?

Kirjautua is the 1st infinitive (dictionary form) of the verb kirjautua = to log in / to sign in. After modal-type verbs like voida (can/could), Finnish typically uses the infinitive:

  • Voisitteko kirjautua… = Could you log in…
Why is it kirjautua sisään—two words? What does sisään do?

kirjautua sisään is a common verb + particle combination, literally log oneself in.

  • sisään = in(to), inside (directional)
  • Together: kirjautua sisään = to sign/log in

You may also see kirjautua ulos = log out, where ulos = out.

What is nähdäksenne and why does it look so different from nähdä?

nähdäksenne is a purpose form meaning in order for you (plural/polite) to see.

It’s built from:

  • nähdä = to see
  • -kse- (purpose construction)
  • -nne (2nd person plural possessive suffix: “your”)

So nähdäksenne ≈ to see (so that you can see) / in order to see.

How would nähdäksenne change for other persons (like “so that I can see”)?

The ending changes with the person:

  • nähdäkseni = so that I can see
  • nähdäksesi = so that you (singular) can see
  • nähdäkseen = so that he/she/they can see
  • nähdäksemme = so that we can see
  • nähdäksenne = so that you (plural/polite) can see
  • nähdäkseen = so that they can see (same form as he/she)
Why is there a comma before onko?

The comma separates the main request from the embedded question.

Structure:

  • Main clause: Voisitteko kirjautua sisään nähdäksenne, … ?
  • Embedded (indirect) yes/no question: onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt

Finnish typically uses a comma before embedded clauses like this.

What does onko mean here? Is it “is” or “whether”?

It’s both, depending on how you think of it. onko is on (is/has) + -ko (question clitic), so it introduces an embedded yes/no question:

  • …nähdäksenne, onko … = …to see whether … / …to see if …

So onko here functions like English whether/if + is/has.

Why is varausjono in the basic form (nominative)? Shouldn’t it have an ending?

In onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt, varausjono is the subject of the clause, so it’s in the nominative (basic form).

  • varaus = reservation/booking
  • jono = queue
  • varausjono = reservation queue / waiting list (a compound noun)

No extra case ending is needed for a straightforward subject.

What does jo add to the sentence?

jo means already. It suggests the shortening might have happened by now, and you’re checking the current situation.

  • onko … jo lyhentynyt? = has it already become shorter?

Without jo, it’s a more neutral “has it shortened?” question.

Why is lyhentynyt in that form, and what tense is onko … lyhentynyt?

lyhentynyt is the past participle of lyhentyä = to become shorter. With olla (on = is/has), this forms a perfect-like meaning:

  • on lyhentynyt = has become shorter (result up to now)

So onko varausjono jo lyhentynyt? is essentially Has the reservation queue already gotten shorter?