Breakdown of Onko se muka tämä asia, joka on epäselvä?
tämä
this
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
asia
thing, matter
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
epäselvä
unclear
muka
supposedly
Questions & Answers about Onko se muka tämä asia, joka on epäselvä?
How exactly is the cleft structure working in this sentence to emphasize a point?
Just like in English, Finnish uses cleft structures to emphasize a specific part of a sentence. Instead of simply asking 'Is this matter supposedly unclear?' (Onko tämä asia muka epäselvä?), it breaks into a main clause with a dummy pronoun (Onko se muka tämä asia) and a relative clause (joka on epäselvä). This puts intense focus on tämä asia.
Why do we use joka here instead of että if the translation says 'that'?
Even though English says 'that is unclear', joka is required because it acts as a relative pronoun referring back to the noun phrase tämä asia. The word että is a subordinate conjunction used for indirect statements (like 'I know that...'), not for linking back to and modifying a specific noun.
How does the particle muka change the tone of this question?
The particle muka translates to 'supposedly' or 'allegedly'. In this cleft sentence, it adds a strong tone of skepticism, disbelief, or sarcasm. The speaker is essentially implying that the matter shouldn't actually be unclear at all.
If we wanted to make this a regular statement instead of a question, what would the word order be?
As a statement, the cleft structure starts with the dummy pronoun: Se on muka tämä asia, joka on epäselvä. To turn it into a yes/no question, the verb on takes the question clitic -ko and jumps to the very front (Onko), pushing se to the second position.
Learn Onko se muka tämä asia, joka on epäselvä 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