Questions & Answers about Tämä on koira, ja tuo on kissa.
Why is there a comma before ja?
In Finnish, when you use ja (and) to connect two complete mini-sentences (clauses that have their own subject and verb), you must put a comma before it. Since Tämä on koira and tuo on kissa are both complete sentences with their own subjects (tämä, tuo) and verbs (on), the comma is required here. In English, we often skip the comma in short sentences, but Finnish is stricter about this rule.
What is the exact difference between tämä and tuo?
Tämä translates to "this" and is used for something right next to or held by the person speaking. Tuo means "that" and is used for something further away, but usually still visible to the people talking.
Why isn't there a word for "a" before koira and kissa?
Finnish doesn't have articles like "a", "an", or "the". The word koira all by itself can mean "dog", "a dog", or "the dog" depending on the context. In this sentence, translating it as "a dog" and "a cat" simply makes the most natural sense in English.