Questions & Answers about Etsitkö sinä häntä?
Why is it häntä and not just hän?
Häntä is the partitive form of hän (he/she). The verb etsiä (to look for) is a partitive verb, meaning the person or thing you are looking for must always be in the partitive case.
How does the word etsitkö work here?
It combines the verb etsit (you look for) with the question ending -kö. Adding -ko or -kö to the first word of a sentence is the standard way to turn a statement into a yes/no question in Finnish.
Could I just say Etsitkö häntä without the word sinä?
Yes! Because the verb etsit already has the -t ending for the "you" form, the word sinä is optional. Including it just adds a little emphasis, like asking "Are you looking for him?"
The translation says "him". Could häntä also mean "her"?
Yes. The Finnish pronoun hän (and its partitive form häntä) is completely gender-neutral. This sentence could mean "Are you looking for him?" or "Are you looking for her?" depending on who you are talking about.
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