Breakdown of Minä tiedän vastauksen. Entä sinä?
minä
I
sinä
you
tietää
to know
vastaus
the answer
entä
what about
Questions & Answers about Minä tiedän vastauksen. Entä sinä?
Why is the word for answer (vastaus) in the genitive form (vastauksen) here?
How does the word vastaus change into vastauksen?
Vastaus belongs to a specific group of Finnish words ending in -us. When adding an ending like the genitive -n, the -s changes to -kse-. So the stem becomes vastaukse-, and adding -n makes it vastauksen.
Can I use mitä instead of entä to say 'What about you'?
No, mitä just means 'what' as a standalone question word. Entä specifically means 'what about' or 'how about'. You use it to bounce a question back to someone or shift the focus, usually followed by a word in its basic nominative form, like Entä sinä?
Since this lesson is about indirect questions, how would I use the -ko/-kö clitic to say 'I don't know if you know the answer'?
In Finnish, the word 'if' in an indirect question is formed by attaching -ko or -kö to the verb you are asking about. 'You know' is tiedät, so 'if you know' becomes tiedätkö. The full sentence would be: Minä en tiedä, tiedätkö sinä vastauksen.
Learn Minä tiedän vastauksen. Entä sinä and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free