Questions & Answers about Kuka on koiran omistaja?
Why does the word for dog, koira, have an -n at the end in this sentence?
The -n ending is the genitive case, which is how Finnish shows possession or ownership. It acts just like the apostrophe-s ('s) in English. By adding -n to the base word koira (dog), it becomes koiran (dog's).
Do possessive words like koiran always come before the thing that is owned?
Yes. Finnish word order for possession is very similar to English. Just as you say 'the dog's owner' rather than 'the owner dog's', the possessor (koiran) comes right before the owned noun (omistaja).
How does the word omistaja (owner) relate to the verb for owning?
The Finnish verb for 'to own' is omistaa. The -ja ending turns a verb into a person doing that action. It works exactly like adding '-er' in English to turn 'own' into 'owner'.
Could I use mikä (what) instead of kuka (who) here?
No, because omistaja (owner) refers to a person. In Finnish, you must use kuka when asking about a person ('who'), and mikä when asking about a thing or animal ('what').