Questions & Answers about Tuo kissa on iloinen, mutta tämä koira on väsynyt.
Why do we use on twice in this sentence instead of olen or olet?
The words olen ('I am') and olet ('you are') are only used for yourself and the person you are speaking to. Since we are talking about a cat and a dog, we need the third-person 'is' form of the verb, which is on.
If we wanted to say 'he is happy' about the cat, would we use hän?
No, hän is strictly used for humans. Finnish does not use gendered pronouns like 'he' or 'she' for animals. For a kissa (cat) or koira (dog), you would use the pronoun se (it). Both hän and se use the same verb form: on.
What is the difference between tuo and tämä?
tämä means 'this' (something close to the speaker) and tuo means 'that' (something further away). This sentence uses them to contrast 'that cat' over there with 'this dog' right here.
Why are iloinen and väsynyt in their basic dictionary forms?
In a simple 'A is B' sentence, when the subject is just one thing (singular), the adjective describing it stays in its basic dictionary form (the nominative case).