Breakdown of Mihin hänen serkkunsa matkustaa?
mihin
where to
matkustaa
to travel
hänen
his, her, hers
serkku
cousin
Questions & Answers about Mihin hänen serkkunsa matkustaa?
Why do we have both hänen and -nsa in this sentence?
In standard Finnish, when you want to say 'his', 'her', or 'their', you must use both the genitive pronoun (hänen or heidän) and the possessive suffix at the end of the noun (-nsa). For first and second person (like 'my' or 'your'), the pronoun is often dropped, but for the third person, both are required.
Why is the possessive suffix -nsa instead of -nsä on serkkunsa?
This is due to vowel harmony. The noun serkku has the back vowel 'u' (along with the neutral vowel 'e'). Because it contains a back vowel, it takes the back-vowel version of the suffix, -nsa.
Why does the question start with mihin instead of missä?
Mihin is the 'into' form (illative case) of the question word mikä. In Finnish, because the verb matkustaa (to travel) involves movement toward a destination, you must ask 'into where' rather than 'in where' (missä).
How do we know if hänen serkkunsa means 'his cousin' or 'her cousin'?
We do not know just from this sentence alone! Finnish pronouns do not indicate gender. The word hän means both 'he' and 'she', so hänen translates to either 'his' or 'her' depending on the broader context of the conversation.
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