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Questions & Answers about Hän jo nukkuu.
Why does the verb nukkua become nukkuu here?
The basic verb is nukkua (to sleep), which is a Type 1 verb. For the hän (he/she) form, you take the stem nukku- and double the last vowel, making it nukkuu.
Since this lesson is about negation, how would I make this sentence negative to say 'He is not sleeping'?
You would say Hän ei nuku. You use the negative word ei for 'he/she', followed by the negative stem of the verb. In the negative stem, the strong double kk weakens to a single k, changing the stem from nukku- to nuku.
Is it normal for jo to go between the subject and the verb?
Yes, adverbs like jo (already) often sit right between the subject and the verb, very much like how we say 'He already sleeps' in English. You can also put it at the end (Hän nukkuu jo) to emphasize the 'already' a bit more.
How do we know this means 'is sleeping' and not just 'sleeps'?
Finnish does not have a separate continuous tense for things happening right now. The single form nukkuu translates to both 'sleeps' and 'is sleeping'. You simply use the context to decide which makes more sense in English.