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Questions & Answers about Opettaja tuntee hänet.
Why is the word for 'him' hänet and not hän?
hän is the subject form (he/she), but here the person is the object of the sentence—the one being known. Personal pronouns change their form when they are the object, so hän becomes hänet (him/her).
Wait, don't whole objects usually end in -n? Why does hänet end in -t?
You are right that regular nouns usually take an -n ending when they are the total object of an action. However, personal pronouns are an exception! When personal pronouns (like I, you, he/she) are the total object, they take a special -t ending instead.
Could hänet also mean 'her' in this sentence?
Yes! Just like the basic pronoun hän (he/she), the object form hänet is entirely gender-neutral. Without more context, this sentence could just as easily mean 'The teacher knows her'.
Could I use the verb tietää here for 'knows'?
No, because tietää means to know a fact or a piece of information. When you are talking about knowing a person or being acquainted with someone, you must use the verb tuntea (which becomes tuntee here for 'he/she knows').