Two Finnish Words for Or

The word or is expressed with two forms in Finnish. They are tai and vai. The word vai is only used in questions.

Only the word tai is used in statements. For example, Hän nimensä oli Marja tai Martta means Her name was Marja or Martta. There are only two options, Marja or Martta.

In questions both tai and vai are used. The question Haluatko sokeria vai kermaa? means Do you want sugar or cream? The listener has four options. They are a) sugar b) cream c) both and d) neither. However, in the question Haluatko kahvia vai teetä? (Do you want coffee or tea?), the listener has two options. They are a) coffee or b) tea.

Let us look at two more examples. The question Puhuuko hän englantia tai saksaa? (Does he speak English or German) can be answered in three ways. They are a) He speaks English b) He speaks German c) He speaks neither. However, in the question Puhuuko hän englantia tai saksaa?, the listener has two options. They are a) English or b) German.

For yes/no questions, tai is used. In the question, Can you come on Monday or Tuesday?, tai is used if the answer is Yes, I can or No, I can't. However, if the answer is I can come on Monday or I can come on Tuesday, vai is used.

The conjunction vai is only used in questions, not in statements. It is used for questions in which the listener must focus on the options. However, the conjunction tai is used in situations in which the focus is on affirmation or negation of the question. The use of tai and vai in Finnish clarifies questions that may be ambiguous in other languages.