There are five common enclitic particles appended after all other types of
endings: -ko ~ -kö, -kin, -kaan ~ -kään, -han ~ -hän and -pa ~ -pä. Less
common ones are -ka ~ -kä and -s. As has been said above, enclitic particles
always occur last in the word, see the diagrams in sections 12–14.
The ending -ko ~ -kö is used to form direct questions (§30.1).
Tule/t/ko? Are you coming?
Et/kö tule? Aren’t you coming?
Auto/lla/ko tulet? Are you coming by car?
Kemi/in/kö menet? Are you going to Kemi?
Sa/isi/n/ko sipulipihvin? Could I have steak and onions?
Muutta/isi/t/ko Ruotsiin jos Would you move to Sweden if you
voisit? could?
Men/nä/än/kö ulos? Shall we go out?
Sinä/kö sen teit? Was it you who did it?
Jo/ko olet korjannut autosi? Have you repaired your car already?
The particle -kin indicates stress and is often equivalent to ‘also’ or ‘too’.
The following examples illustrate its use with nouns:
Olen hankkinut auto/n/kin. I have got a car, too.
Minä/kin olen hankkinut auton. I, too, have got a car.
Oli hauskaa, että sinä/kin tulit. It was nice that you came too.
Juotko kahvi/a/kin? Do you drink coffee as well?
Olen ollut Espanja/ssa/kin. I have been to Spain, too.
Other word classes 229
The particle -kin is also used with verbs, and then it is difficult to say
precisely what meaning it has. It may for instance indicate that some
expectation has been fulfilled, or mark a sense of surprise, or strengthen an
exclamation.
Odotin häntä ja hän tul/i/kin. I waited for him and he really did
come.
Olen ollut ui/ma/ssa/kin. I’ve been swimming, too.
Eikö hän ole/kin ihana! Isn’t he wonderful!
Kalle on/kin täällä. Kalle is in fact here.
Etkö lupaa/kin apuasi! Surely you will promise your help,
won’t you?
Men/i/n/kin kotiin. I did go home.
The particle -kaan ~ -kään generally corresponds to -kin in negative
sentences.
En ole hankkinut auto/a/kaan. I haven’t got a car, either.
Minä/kään en ole hankkinut Neither have I got a car.
autoa.
Etkö juo kahvi/a/kaan? Don’t/won’t you drink coffee, either?
En ole ollut Espanja/ssa/kaan. I haven’t been to Spain, either.
Odotin häntä, mutta hän ei I waited for him but he didn’t come.
tul/lut/kaan.
Kalle ei ole/kaan täällä. Kalle is not here, after all.
Etkö lupaa/kaan apuasi? Won’t you promise your help after
all?
The particle -han ~ -hän generally indicates that the sentence expresses
something that is familiar or known. It may also be used simply to stress
the speaker’s message. It can only be added to the first element of the
sentence.
Tämä/hän on skandaali! This really is a scandal!
Ruotsi/han on kuningaskunta. As we know, Sweden is a monarchy.
Minä/hän RAKASTAN sinua! I LOVE you!
Rakasta/n/han minä sinua. Of course I love you.
Sinu/a/han minä rakastan. You are the one I love.
Huomenna/han lähdemme Tomorrow we’re going on holiday,
lomalle. aren’t we?
Viime sunnuntai/na/han Kalle It was last Sunday that Kalle was
syntyi. born.
Ole/n/han minä käynyt Of course, I’ve been to Russia as
Venäjälläkin. well.
The particle -han ~ -hän is also used in questions to make them more polite,
and to soften commands.
230 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
On/ko/han Pentti kotona? I wonder if Pentti is at home?
Paljon/ko/han pieni kahvi How much might a small coffee
maksaa? cost?
Sa/isi/n/ko/han laskun? Could I have the bill, please?
Ota/han vähän lisää! Please take a little more!
Astu/kaa/han sisään! Please come in!
Ole/han hiljaa! Please be quiet, will you?
Vie/hän astiat keittiöön! Take the dishes into the kitchen,
could you?
The particle -pa ~ -pä indicates emphasis. In the spoken language it is often
followed by -s.
On/pa hän pitkä! He really is tall!
Kyllä/pä sinä olet ahkera! You ARE hard-working, aren’t
you?
Anna/pa minullekin vähän kahvia! Give me a little coffee too!
En/pä anna! No I won’t (‘give’)!
On/pa(s) täällä kuuma! It really is hot here!
Tuo/ssa/pa on iso joukko! There’s a really big group!
The ending -ka ~ -kä is fairly rare. It is mainly used with the negation verb to
indicate emphasis.
En tiedä en/kä halua tietää.
I don’t know, and I don’t want to know either.
Mormonit eivät käytä kahvia eivät/kä myöskään alkoholia.
The Mormons don’t drink coffee, nor alcohol either.
Älä heitä paperia älä/kä sylje lattialle.
Don’t throw paper about and don’t spit on the floor.
More than one particle may occasionally be attached to the same word.
On/ko/han Sylvi kotona? I wonder if Sylvi is at home?
On/pa/han täällä kuuma! It really is hot here, isn’t it!
Tule/pa/han vähän lähemmäs! Come a bit closer, will you?
Olutta/kin/ko vielä otat? Will you really have some more
beer, too?
Mene/pä/s vähän sivummalle! Move over a bit, will you?
