montako

The word montako is formed from monta (the partitive of moni, meaning 'many') and the question suffix -ko. It is extremely common in everyday spoken Finnish.

1. The Standard Rule (Subject vs. Object)
For most countable nouns, the noun following montako must be in the singular partitive. The verb conjugation depends on the role of the montako phrase:

• As a Subject/Existential: The verb remains in the 3rd person singular. Montako autoa pihalla on? (How many cars are in the yard?)
• As an Object: The verb conjugates to agree with the actual subject of the sentence. Montako autoa sinä ostat? (How many cars are you buying?) or Montako kieltä he puhuvat? (How many languages do they speak?)

2. Synonyms and Variations
You can also use kuinka monta to mean exactly the same thing. While montako is the partitive form of the question word moniko, you might occasionally see kuinka moni or its exact -ko equivalent moniko, which takes a nominative singular noun: Moniko opiskelija puhuu suomea? (How many students speak Finnish?). It can also stand independently with an elative group: Moniko teistä puhuu suomea? (How many of you speak Finnish?). Here teistä means 'of you', not the noun governed by moniko.

3. Case Changes and Inflection
The base question word is moniko, which can inflect into all cases. Montako is its standard partitive form. However, you might encounter montaako, which makes the partitive function explicit in contexts such as an ongoing action, a partitive-governing verb, or negation. Montako also occurs with partitive verbs, as in Montako kieltä he puhuvat?; do not mechanically replace every such montako with montaako. Montaa can also distinguish kinds from units, as in montaa juustoa (several kinds of cheese). For example:

• Partitive Verb: Montaako ihmistä sinä autat? (How many people are you helping? - using montaako because auttaa takes the partitive, and it emphasizes an ongoing process rather than a completed result).
• Adessive Case: Monellako eurolla ostat sen? (With how many euros are you buying it?).

4. The Plural-Only Exception (Plurale Tantum)
If you are asking about nouns that only exist in the plural (like sakset 'scissors' or housut 'pants'), use the form monetko. The noun stays in the nominative plural. In an existential question asking how many are present, the verb remains singular. In an ordinary clause where a monetko phrase is the subject of an action or property, the verb is plural: Monetko sakset ovat rikki? (How many pairs of scissors are broken?).

• Monetko housut sinulla on? (How many [pairs of] pants do you have? - 'on' is used here because of the 'sinulla on' possessive structure).
• Monetko sakset pöydällä on? (How many scissors are on the table? - 'on' is singular because it is an existential sentence).

5. Montako vs. Kuinka paljon
Use montako for things you can count (1, 2, 3...). For an uncountable amount, use paljonko or kuinka paljon: Paljonko rahaa/aikaa/vettä? (How much money/time/water?). Countable units still take montako: Montako litraa vettä? (How many litres of water?). Note that in casual spoken Finnish, people frequently use paljonko even for countable nouns.

6. Answering a 'Montako' Question
A simple affirmative count answer with two or more uses a number + partitive singular. For example, if asked Montako autoa pihalla on?, the answer would be Pihalla on kolme autoa. However, there is a crucial exception: if the answer is exactly 1, both the number and the noun revert to the nominative singular (e.g., Yksi auto).

Further Connections

• kuka: Both are common question words used to gather specific information.
• mikä: Both are essential question words in Finnish.