aikoa

aikoa is a Finnish verb meaning "to intend" or "to be about to." It functions as a semi-auxiliary used to express future plans or near-future actions, and it is usually followed by another verb in its bare infinitive form (for example, aion mennä, hän aikoo tulla).

Conjugation and uses of aikoa are central to its role in everyday Finnish. In the present tense the forms are: minä aion, sinä aiot, hän aikoo, me aiomme, te aiotte, he aikovat. The negative present is formed with the same order: en aio, et aio, ei aio, emme aio, ette aio, eivät aio. In the past (the imperfect) tense the forms are: minä aioin, sinä aioit, hän aikoi, me aioimme, te aioitte, he aikoivat. The negative past is: en aikonut, et aikonut, ei aikonut, emme aikoneet, ette aikoneet, eivät aikoneet. These forms show that aikoa behaves like a regular Finnish verb in its endings, with a few irregularities in tense stems.

The main verb following aikoa is in the bare infinitive, as in Aion lähteä (I intend to leave) or Hän aikoo tulla (He plans to come). Aikoa is commonly used for near-future plans and intentions in both speech and writing. It can convey uncertainty or hedging when combined with other verbs or contextual cues, contrasting with more definite future expressions.

Etymology and history: aikoa is a native Finnic verb with long-standing usage in Finnish. It appears in older Finnish literature and remains a core part of the language’s future-oriented expressions.