Breakdown of Ohikulkija kysyi asukkaalta, missä lähin pankki on.
olla
to be
missä
where
kysyä
to ask
pankki
the bank
Questions & Answers about Ohikulkija kysyi asukkaalta, missä lähin pankki on.
Why is the person being asked in the -lta form (asukkaalta)?
This is because of verb rection. In Finnish, you don't ask someone a question, you ask it from them. The verb kysyä (to ask) requires the person you are asking to be in the ablative case (-lta/-ltä).
How exactly do we get from the base word asukas (resident) to asukkaalta?
Nouns ending in -as/-äs have a stem that ends in a double vowel (-aa-/-ää-) and they undergo reverse consonant gradation. This means the weak single k in asukas strengthens to a double kk in the stem, giving us asukkaa-. Then you just add the -lta ending.
Why is the verb on at the very end of the sentence instead of right after missä?
The phrase missä lähin pankki on is an indirect question. In Finnish, indirect questions don't use inverted question word order; they keep the normal statement word order (Subject + Verb). It aligns perfectly with English here: 'where the nearest bank is' rather than 'where is the nearest bank'.
What parts make up the word ohikulkija?
It is a compound word made of ohi (past/by) and kulkija (walker/wanderer). Kulkija itself comes from the verb kulkea (to go/walk) plus the -ja ending, which means 'a person who does'. Literally, a passer-by!