How to understand "Että mahtaako Tosca sittenkin..."
I came across this sentence on a website:
Että mahtaako Tosca sittenkin, ollakseen niin kiltti kissa, käydä Casimirin kimppuun oikein tosissaan.
Some questions:
1. What does "että" mean at the beginning of the sentence, or is this a mistake?
2. How should I understand "mahtaako" in this sentence? I know "mahtaa" mean "must", but what about when -ko is added?
3. Does this sentence mean the same as "Ollakseen niin kiltti kissa, Tosca kävisikö sittenkin Casimirin kimppuun oikein tosissaan"?
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 2
1
1. At the beginning of this sentence "että" transforms the sentence more to a statement instead of a question. You see, there is no question mark in the end. There must be some sort of discussion or thoughts before this sentence, it can't start a new issue out of blue.
"-Lähdetäänkö kävelylle?
-Että minäkö lähtisin ulos!"
The answer means that I'm definitely not going out - it is not a question.
2. Mahtaa has a couple of meanings. In this context it is connected to word käydä (kimppuun). And -ko makes the verb a question as usually (but in this case että neutralises the question!). "Mahtaako käydä kimppuun" means "I wonder if (he) is going to attack"
3. Yes, it has same meaning and is even better language (just reverse: kävisikö Tosca). The only difference is that yours is a question. And the example sentence is clearly in the middle of a conversation or a story, while yours can stand alone.
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