Pystyisivätkö

Pystyisivätkö is a Finnish grammatical construction used to form questions about whether a group of people would be able to do something. It combines the third-person plural conditional form pystyisivät of the verb pystyä, meaning “to be able,” with the question particle ko/kö, attached to the verb clause. The literal sense is “Would they be able (to) …?”

Grammar notes: Pystyä is an intransitive verb meaning to be able or capable. The conditional mood for plural subjects is formed as pystyisivät. To turn a statement into a question, the question particle ko/kö is added after the verb, yielding pystyisivätkö. In everyday speech the word order may shift slightly for emphasis, but the standard form is as shown.

Usage: Pystyisivätkö is used to inquire about hypothetical capabilities of a plural subject. It is common in both spoken and written Finnish, especially in contexts like planning, requests, or evaluating possibilities. Examples include:

- Pystyisivätkö he auttamaan meitä tänä iltana? (Would they be able to help us this evening?)

- Pystyisivätkö opiskelijat suorittamaan kokeen ajoissa? (Would the students be able to complete the exam on time?)

- Pystyisivätkö he osallistumaan kokoukseen ensi viikolla? (Would they be able to attend the meeting next week?)

Etymology and related forms: The verb pystyä derives from Finnish language roots for ability. Related forms include pystyisin, pystyisit, pystyisi, pystyisimme, pystyisitte, and pystyisivät, which cover different subjects and moods. See also pystyä in other tenses for broader grammatical context.