Istivatko

Istivatko is a Finnish interrogative form built by attaching the question particle -ko to a verb form. In Finnish, the -ko/-kö particle marks yes–no questions and is typically appended to the word carrying the main verb, with the form agreeing with tense and subject. However, the standard past tense third-person plural form of the verb istua (to sit) is istuivat, not istivat. Therefore istuivatko is the normative question form meaning “Did they sit?”

Usage and accuracy

- Correct standard form for asking about a past action by a plural subject is istuivatko. Example: Istuivatko he pöydän ääressä eilen? (Did they sit by the table yesterday?)

- Istivatko is not the standard form in contemporary Finnish and is generally considered nonstandard or dialectal. It may appear in regional speech or as an error in writing.

Formation notes

- The -ko/-kö particle is versatile and can appear on different parts of a clause, but for past-tense questions about a plural subject with istua, the standard form uses istuivatko.

- Other verbs follow the same pattern: the past plural form plus -ko/-kö yields the question form (for example, istuivatko, menivätkö, olivatko, etc., depending on the verb’s past tense form).

See also

- Finnish question particles -ko and -kö

- Finnish verb conjugation and tense marks

- Finnish orthography and dialectal variation

In summary, istivatko is a recognizable but nonstandard form derived from the general mechanism of adding -ko/-kö to indicate questions. For clear, standard Finnish, use istuivatko when asking whether they sat in the past.