kertovatko

Kertovatko is a Finnish verb form created by adding the question particle -ko/-kö to the verb kertoa (to tell). It is used to form a yes–no question about whether a group of subjects tells something. The form kertovatko specifically targets the third-person plural subject, yielding the sense “do they tell…?” The corresponding singular form would be kertooko (does he/she tell?), while the affirmative present tense for they tell is kertovat.

The -ko/-kö suffix follows vowel harmony, attaching to the finite verb form. In kertovatko, the last vowel in the stem kertovat is a, so the back-vowel variant -ko is used. The result is a single word that marks both the question and the grammatical person.

Examples:

- Kertovatko he tarinan? Do they tell a story?

- Kertovatko he, mitä tapahtui? Will they tell us what happened?

- Kertooko hän tarinan? Does he tell the story?

Usage and notes:

- kertovatko is common in written Finnish and in formal spoken Finnish, especially in contexts where the speaker wants to frame a direct question about a group.

- In more casual speech, Finns may rely on intonation alone or use alternative phrasing, but -ko/-kö forms remain a standard way to form explicit questions.

- The construction can be used with various objects following the verb, e.g., tarinan, perhehistoriaa, uutisia, etc.