Breakdown of Kuka tuo nainen on, ja missä hän asuu?
olla
to be
tuo
that
hän
he / she
ja
and
missä
where
nainen
woman
asua
to live
kuka
who
Questions & Answers about Kuka tuo nainen on, ja missä hän asuu?
Why is the verb on at the end of the first part, instead of right after kuka?
In Finnish questions starting with a question word like kuka (who), the subject usually comes before the verb. So instead of 'Who is that woman?', Finnish says 'Who that woman is?' (Kuka tuo nainen on?).
Is kuka used for animals or things too?
No, kuka strictly means 'who' and is only used for humans. If you are asking 'what' an animal or object is, you would use mikä instead.
I noticed missä (where) has the -ssä ending. Is that related to the ending used for 'in'?
Yes, exactly! The word missä literally means 'in what?'. The -ssä ending is the Finnish way of saying 'in', which makes sense since you are asking what place she lives in.
Does the word hän mean 'she', or does it change depending on the gender?
Hän is completely gender-neutral and means both 'he' and 'she'. In this sentence, we translate it as 'she' simply because it refers to the nainen (woman) mentioned earlier.
Why does the dictionary word asua (to live) become asuu here?
When talking about a third person like 'he' or 'she' (hän), you usually double the last vowel of the verb's core part (its stem). The stem for this verb is asu-, so adding another u makes it asuu.
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